Many of you have heard our Career Center Director’s opinion of job search priorities:

“In a job search, your highest priority activity is to be face-to-face with a live person. If possible that person should be in a position to hire you, but more likely they will just know someone else who may need your talents. During normal working hours, when you are not successful at being face-to-face, you should be on the phone trying to get face-to-face. After hours is the only time you can afford to work the less effective methods such as the job boards, internet searches, newspaper help wanted ads, emails and correspondence.”

Jon is absolutely right on several points, but I’d like to add a secondary priority that should strengthen your ability to control and expand your career options during your job search, and beyond!

U.S. Department of Labor statistics indicate that 85 percent of jobs seekers success comes from networking and direct company contact. At least 60 percent of all jobs – Wall Street Journal reported as high as 95 percent – are found by networking.

I still agree that face-to-face and phone calls are the most powerful methods of communication, and in a job search they should remain your top priority. But networking, as a lifestyle, begins before you are in job search mode, and should continue throughout your job search as priority number two.

Networking is defined by Merriam-Webster as:
1: the exchange of information or services among individuals, groups, or institutions; specifically : the cultivation of productive relationships for employment or business

That puts a whole new focus on networking, doesn’t it? Networking isn’t really about shaking as many hands as possibly, or even making cold calls, or small talk. Networking is about cultivating productive relationships.

 Networking as a Lifestyle: A relationship is defined as: “the state of being related or interrelated”. What I think Merriam-Webster missed is the value-added understanding that a relationship is a “two-way street”. You are offering a bit of your own experience in “exchange” for a bit of theirs, and creating a network of valued “partners”.

 Now relationship building may seem even more frightening to some of us than “networking”, but today we have tools to help take some of the sting out of our social obligations.

Build your profile, and live it: Networking no longer means only phone calls and handshakes. Today many modern professionals understand that keeping LinkedIn, MySpace, or even Twitter updated on a regular basis gives them many regular opportunities to chime in with their opinion or knowledge on discussions of best practice, or just sharing common information that could help another “online friend”.

Keeping your profile up to date with information about what you do, where you do it, and how you might be of benefit as a contact is valid both for job searches, and for continuing education opportunities.

You can’t always take the time to visit a competitors facility and ask him how he solved a problem that has you stumped, but via LinkedIn groups you can ask that same question and you just might get answers from friends and competitors alike. Especially if you’ve developed a reputation for thanking those who’ve assisted you, and assisting those who’ve asked for help!

You can develop long distance contacts that recognize your name, and if you did a bit further and chat privately with those who give that extra effort to assist you, you can build that relationship without ever leaving your desk.

So get out there, build your profile, and get involved in discussion groups, or even respond to blogs, journals, or news articles. Getting out there and thanking people for the information they provide, and responding with a little of your own is a great place to start.

Professional Organizations (Online and In-Person): Get involved with networking groups and professional affiliations if you can. You don’t always have to volunteer large amounts of time to become a valued member of their management teams, and the acquaintances you make will always remember you as a leader in that realm.

Open Networking: Once you’ve started putting yourself out there, remember that it is important to focus and continue that new networking “lifestyle”! If you buy into the “open networking” school of thought then you might connect with anyone that asks you to connect with them (on LinkedIn as an example). This is how some people end up with connections to hundreds or even thousands of individuals., But, don’t forget to focus on building relationship with the focused groups and individuals that share their wisdom with you.

Please join LinkedIn and specifically seek out and join our APICS Atlanta and APICS National LinkedIn groups where we try to offer best practice discussions, and more on a regular basis!
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=156588&trk=anet_ug_hm

Contact Scheduling: A contact management tool may be necessary, as LinkedIn does not presently give you the tools you need to build reports showing who you have connected with recently. Outlook & Windows have several tools available to them, but whatever you use, it’s the process you create to remind yourself of important people to talk with that is the most important issue.

Good Luck and GOOD NETWORKING!