Harness Your Network to Unlock Your Next Great Role
Three Practices That Can Help
If your job search were a Tolkien quest, your network would be your Fellowship. Don’t wander into Mordor alone. Or, for my non-Tolkien-loving readers: Ignoring your network during your job search is like fishing without bait. Youâre making it a lot harder on yourself.
By going it alone, you’re essentially ignoring a wealth of resources that could guide you straight to your dream job. It’s not just an oversight; it’s a critical error. So, weâre going to avoid that job search death trap and utilize three practices to help you ease into involving your network in your job search â without all the icky feelings.
Letâs jump in.

The Perils of a DIY Job Search
Letâs weigh the pros and cons of tapping into your network.
Con: Youâre going to miss opportunities. Job opportunities often circulate in industry or insider circles before being posted online. Employers love to hire referrals, so theyâll ask around before posting publicly. If youâre not networking, you miss all these âhiddenâ opportunities.
Con: Without leads, tips, referrals, or advice from your network, youâre left withâŠwell, job boards. Thatâs about it.
Con: Itâs not just about getting the interview â itâs also the information that youâll carry into the interview that youâd otherwise be without. The companyâs culture, management style, industry insights, and specific details about the role are known by people inside the company and in the industry. Not having this information puts you at a disadvantage in the interview and in negotiations.
Weâre not done with the cons yetâŠthere are more!
Con: Your resume and cover letter will be weaker. Insights and referrals from your network strengthen your resume and cover letter. All that great insider information about what the company values and what it needs can go right into your resume and cover letter. Without this information, your application might not stand out.
Con: Donât forget the emotional toll of not having a support network. Job searching is isolating and stressful; without a strong support system, itâs easy to become discouraged.
Con: Weaker negotiation power. A referral from a colleague can give you an advantage when it comes to negotiating salary. Itâs social proof, rolled into the fact that you have the experience and expertise. Itâs a triple threat that puts you in an optimal position to negotiate a higher salary. Without the referral, you miss this opportunity.
Con: Your network can often provide insights into a company’s culture and whether it aligns with your own values and work style, helping you avoid poor job fits that you might otherwise discover only after you’ve started the job.
So, while it may seem more comfortable to job search alone, without reaching out to your network to ask for help, youâre sacrificing invaluable resources, time, and potential opportunities by not leveraging your network.
The pros are the exact opposite of each con. By leveraging your network, youâre gaining invaluable advice, information, referrals, time, and resources to ensure you stand out and place yourself in the best possible position to land a role faster, at a higher salary, and with a culture that fits you and your values.
Now that you know all the pitfalls and what it really costs you not to network, letâs talk about how you can ease into networking and make it simpleâŠand maybe even FUN.
The First Networking Practice â Supporting Others
Iâm an introvert.
Socially awkward.
And I hate small talk.
I will feel stressed for weeks before attending a conference even though I already know half the people attending!
I also hate the word networking. Networking implies I have to ask for help, engage in small talk (which Iâm terrible at), and ask questions that feel forced and self-serving. No wonder it has that icky feeling.
But, let me tell you what I have found I love:
Supporting other people.
Cheering them on.
Encouraging them.
Sharing what I know with them.
Adding my own thoughts to the conversation.
Learning something new from other people.
I easily do this on LinkedIn every day by simply commenting on other peopleâs posts. My network consists of colleagues in my industry (other career experts) and job seekers (the people I serve).
I have a list of colleagues who create content regularly on LinkedIn, and I take time to comment on their posts. My comments donât have to be long or deeply profound. They can be as simple as letting the colleague know that I agree with what theyâve posted and then sharing something related to their post that Iâve learned or experienced.
That kindness of supporting their content increases their visibility on the platform and my visibility on the platform. It benefits us both.
And, when you repeatedly show up, people start recognizing your name and your face. They appreciate your support of their work. Eventually, they will reciprocate and support what you post.
I canât tell you how many colleague relationships Iâve developed this way, with people I would have otherwise never met. One of my good work friends is a connection I met on LinkedIn, and we meet up at conferences and regularly email each other to check in. Itâs become a mutually supportive friendship.
Iâve found and added new members to my team this way. New clients have been referred to me through my connections on LinkedIn. And, even though Iâm not looking for a job, if I were, LinkedIn would be the first place I would go. My connections would be the first people I would tell because they know the industry and my reputation, and they would support me â even without me having to ask for help.
All of this comes from simple kindness. Taking 10 minutes of my day to say, âI see you, I value your work, and I appreciate what youâre doing.â
If commenting seems overwhelming, start small. Find 3â5 experts in your field, and comment on their posts 3 days a week. Keep this up until youâre comfortable expanding your circle.
The Second Networking Practice â Sharing Your Expertise
If commenting on what other people share on LinkedIn is beginner-level networking, then posting your own content on LinkedIn would be intermediate-level networking. Itâs stepping up your game and putting yourself out there.
Yes, itâs scary because youâre sharing your thoughts, tips, advice, and experiences.
But, it is oh-so-rewarding.
What you have to remember when it comes to sharing content on LinkedIn is to be authentic to your personal brand.
For me, Iâm a natural-born educator. I collect information, data, resources, insights, etc. and then share them with others to help them get ahead. Itâs one of my biggest passions and strengths. So, teaching through my posts comes naturally to me.
If youâve followed me on LinkedIn for any length of time, youâll notice that I am not a viral writer with posts that blow up with millions of views. Iâm just not controversial like that â instead, I educate.
I am also not irreverent. But boy, do I love Adam Karpiakâs posts because his personal brand is irreverent, and he is hilarious. I love all of those posts. I definitely canât write like that, though. It wouldnât be authentic to my personality.
But give me some recent research and data on hiring trends or recruiting statistics, and I have a field day. What Iâm trying to say is: Share what comes naturally to you.
Do you love reading trade journals or breaking news? Share something that really stuck out to you in the post.
Do you like to stay at the leading-edge in your industry? What are some new developments that you found fascinating?
Are you a problem solver? Whatâs a common headache that people who do what you do face that youâve figured out how to solve? Share that with your network.
Use industry-relevant hashtags so others who are following the topics youâre writing about can find you and read your content. It will be slow-going at first. You canât expect to get hundreds of views the first time you post. It took me more than a decade to build my following.
I also donât recommend trying to go viral with your posts. Itâs a crapshoot youâre not likely to win, and in most cases, it wonât reflect your brand or the audience youâre trying to reach.
Combine posting content with commenting on othersâ content. Once you consistently show up for other people, theyâll start showing up for you and your circle will expand. Youâll make more connections in your industry.
And you havenât asked for anything. So far, all weâve done is support other people and share what we know.
The Third Networking Practice â Asking for Advice
âPeople donât miss out on interviews by not applying in time; people miss out on interviews by applying instead of networking.â â Steve Dalton, Author of The 2-Hour Job Search, Sr. Career Consultant, Duke Universityâs Fuqua School of Business.
Career coaches everywhere will tell you to never, ever ask a network connection for a job. Seems counterintuitive, right? I mean, you are job searching. But it rarely (if ever) goes anywhere, and it brings up all those icky feelings of asking someone for help when youâre giving nothing in return and/or barely know them. Hard pass.
What you do want to ask for is information or advice.
One of the simplest ways to do this is to hop on Facebook or Twitter and ask your friends or family whether they know anyone at one of your Top 5 Target Employers. You do have a target company list, right? **cough, cough**
Asking this only takes seconds, and you might just get what you ask for. Not only that, but this method is based on a concept studied by a Stanford sociologist. Have you heard of âthe strength of weak ties?â Harvard Business Review made the term popular when they wrote about the study. The theory behind it is that close friends share the same social networks, but your friendsâ friends may have a relevant contact you havenât already uncovered. Altruism is a powerful motivator, so asking, âCan anyone put me in touch with someone from ABC Company? In advertising, if possible?â could land you several offers.
When you get that contact information from your friends or find it on LinkedIn, the next step is to send the contact an email asking for a favor (an informational meeting). Youâre not going to ask for a job. Did I say that already? =)
I am a big fan of Steve Daltonâs 6-point email framework. It goes like this:
- Keep it short, less than 75 words. People are busy.
- Ask for insight and advice, not job leads. (Thereâs that pesky not-asking-for-a-job thing again).
- State your common point of connection first.
- Make your request a question. It must end in a question mark (?).
- Define your interest.
- Keep over half the message about your contact â not you.
Do not include tons of information, your whole job search history, or 5 different questions. Iâve received messages like this. Theyâre overwhelming and presumptuous. Hardly anyone has time to respond to a message like that.
Hereâs an example of what your message could look like:
Subject: Your digital marketing experience at Thrive Marketing Agency
Hi Laura,
Iâm Jennifer, a fellow UF MBA (â20). May I chat with you for a few minutes about your digital marketing experience with Thrive?
Iâm trying to learn more about digital marketing in the Jacksonville market, so your insights would be greatly appreciated.
All the best,
Jennifer
You donât have to mention youâre looking for a job. Theyâve already figured that out.
The logical response will be, âWhen are you available to chat?â From there, you can schedule an informational meeting. Donât expect every single message to get a response; youâll definitely want to schedule a follow-up message three days later. Adjust your expectations to reduce frustration in your job search because only 20â40% of people will respond.
If youâve followed the six points I shared above, youâve done everything possible on your end to ensure a response. Youâve kept it short, been respectful of their time, made it about them, mentioned a common connection, and reduced the likelihood theyâll say no.
From here, your next steps will be to schedule the informational meeting if they respond, follow-up in three days if they donât, and keep looking for additional contacts. Now that you know how to ask for the informational meeting, how about what to ask during the informational meeting? We have scripts and guides for the informational meeting as well as dozens of other job search conversations and scenarios in our brand-new Job Seeker Central Membership, launching soon. You can join the waitlist here to be the first to hear and get access to these resources when our membership site goes live.Â
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About the author
Jessica Hernandez, President, CEO & Founder of Great Resumes Fast
Hi, Iâm Jessica. I started this company back in 2008 after more than a decade directing hiring practices at Fortune 500 companies.
What started as a side hustle (before that was even a word!) helping friends of friends with their resumes has now grown into a company that serves hundreds of happy clients a year. But the personal touch? Iâve kept that.
You might have seen me featured as a resume expert in publications like Forbes, Fast Company, and Fortune. And in 2020, I was honored to be named as a LinkedIn Top Voice of the year!
Iâm so glad youâre here, and I canât wait to help you find your next perfect-fit position!
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