Precise statistics are difficult to gather but it is probably safe to estimate that two out of three jobs filled result from some type of networking situation. Accepting this as true, one can readily see the folly of spending two-thirds of your time answering ads in the paper. If you do, this is a grossly disproportionate matching of effort and accomplishment related to your job search activities.

Yet, we know from experience and survey that most job seekers think their time is
better spent reading ads than networking. Why is this? Frankly, it is because answering ads is much easier than networking. Networking is difficult.

Admittedly, networking is something that does not come easily to most of us. Usually, our networking consisted mainly of our experience at work in a relatively closed organizational environment. But if you are in a need for a good job, you must overcome these feelings.

Networking is not by itself the answer to your needs but it is the ideal companion to all your other efforts.

How to use it?
Networking has many aspects that can be employed in the job search effort:
1. The traditional network of friends, relatives and acquaintances.
2. The expanded network of new contacts.
3. The target network for a specific industry or job.
4. The network organization or association.
5. The network as adjunct to other search activities.

Networking is dynamic and never static. Just as a tree sprouts new branches and loses those that die, so goes a network. A network must constantly be nurtured through expansion, cultivation, and the elimination of "dead wood."

Traditional Network
Listing the contacts you have made over the years is basic to developing an effective network. These types of contacts are often less than productive and seem like a waste of time to many of us.

Contact everyone on the list but be selective as to who and how you use him or her. Make a short list' of those who are both willing and most likely to help. Discard those that are not. Once you have determined those who are likely to help, cultivate them.

Make sure that they know what your objective is in very specific terms. Often network contacts of this type fail to deliver because they never really understand "where you're coming from and where you're trying to go." Careful discussion, follow-up letters, resumes and other means of communication accomplish this.

Do not expect miracles. Most of these individuals, particularly in today's market, do not

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