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Here's an image to go along with your job search: Picture a pebble hitting a pond and waves spreading out in circles from the point of impact.
What does throwing rocks into a pond have to do with finding a job? Just as the water ripples and spreads out, your professional network has to outgrow its original boundaries so you can obtain leads to new opportunities.
If you tell everyone -- and that means everyone -- you know that you are in the market for a job, it still doesn't take your network far enough. You need to get past the comfort zone that consists of your immediate circle of friends, neighbors, acquaintances, service providers and colleagues and spread your message beyond anyone with whom you have direct contact. Why? Because these people already know you need help finding a job, and if they could, they would be sharing leads with you. Your goal should be to meet and talk about new career opportunities with individuals who aren't known to your immediate circle.
Six Degrees of Separation
Remember "six degrees of separation"? In The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell talks about the origin of this phenomenon. He describes how a large group of people ultimately became connected to one another by just a few surprisingly connected individuals who provided a common link. Gladwell talks about how there are pivotal people in any network of connected individuals who know a lot of other people. In the context of your job search, there may be especially well-connected individuals who are in a position to help you network further. If you connect purposefully with those who are connected to others in your targeted network and explain your interests compellingly enough for them to want to assist you, then your network-building efforts will pay off better than if you just happen to tell the world you need a job. Makes sense, doesn't it?
How to Apply It to Your Search
First of all, recognize that whom you tell is just as important as what you say. Effective networking has two main components: communicating your message clearly (i.e. perfecting an elevator pitch that defines your potential contribution to prospective employers) and delivering it to those who can appreciate your value and hopefully help you access new opportunities. Next, these contacts have to initiate appropriate career-related actions on your behalf -- making additional referrals, arranging interviews, putting a deal together for you, offering you a new job, etc.
If you strategically focus your networking on those who can offer you a job or know a lot of other people who can make you a job offer, then your job search is bound to progress to a swift, successful conclusion.
