Who are Your Networking Contacts?

Make a list of names. To jump start your thinking consider the following possibilities.

Your Networking Contacts

• Family
  This includes your extended as well as your immediate family. Don't assume everyone knows that you're looking for work and what type of work you're most interested in. They won't know unless you tell them.

• Friends
  Your friends know and love you so of course they want to help. Tell them how they can do that.

• Acquaintances
  These are the people you know well enough to say hello to and that's about it. They could be friends of friends or neighbors you only see occasionally.

• Professors, teachers and classmates
  If you're in school the people in your classes are great sources to tap into. To start the conversation you might ask if they know of any job openings.

• Work colleagues
  These could be current or former co-workers. If you're conducting a confidential search you might not want to tap into this one. Use your best judgment.

• Service providers
  This is an often overlooked part of your network. Service providers come into contact with people from all walks of life. My husband has owned a carpet and upholstery cleaning business for the past 18 years. I'm constantly amazed at the people he knows and does business with. You never know who your hair dresser or regular lunch time waitress might know!

• Trade Association members
  "Surface in the middle of a convoy." This phrase from a self help book about sales that I read many years ago has stuck with me. (The name of the book escapes me.) Specifically it was about how to find and approach people who would qualify for and be interested in my services.

  To surface in the middle of a convoy you must find where the people you want to meet congregate. Many times that place is industry trade associations.

  If your desired position is industry specific trade associations are a source of network connections you should investigate.

  If you don't already belong to one a Google search will help locate these organizations. You can often attend one or two meetings as a guest. Many associations also have student memberships.

• People you worship with
  If you participate in organized religion this is often a great place to get the word out.

• People in sports clubs
  If you participate in sports you come into contact with people from many different backgrounds. If you play an organized team sport so much the better. Parents with kids in organized sports associate with the other parents on a regular basis. Don't overlook these contacts.

• People in your online social network
  With the proliferation of social networking groups such as MySpace, LinkedIn and Facebook more and more people are developing these contacts.

Keep in mind that this networking contacts list is just to get your thinking started. As you begin to speak with people you will expand on this list through introductions and referrals.

If you're reluctant to approach people about your job search start slow through more casual networking. To get comfortable with even that start by understanding what networking for a job is and gain more networking for job searches know how. When you actually end up in front of the hiring manager you'll be glad you did.