There are certain people who have jobs that are dependent upon networking for survival. These include stockbrokers, bankers, real estate agents, insurance agents, even barbers—all are dependent upon personal networks for their livelihood. If you have a personal relationship with someone in one of these or some other sales-oriented or personal-service professions, ask if they will tap into their personal network to assist you in your job search.

Some people network for a living. Tap into the power of their network.

Our company recently hired an individual from out of town who had originally contacted a real estate agent our company works with on relocations. The real estate agent was aware of our hiring needs and referred the person to our office. The networking link between candidate and employer had come from a third party. Yet the real estate agent will also benefit, since the new employee is now her dedicated customer and part of her network of contacts for future business.

This is the value of networking. In practice, it can be extremely powerful. The business world is like a large web, with many interconnecting parts. Your job is to tap in to the initial connections then work through that web of connections.

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