Eight Great Places to Make Job Search Networking Contacts

Networking will always be a terrific way to find out about new jobs and get your way in. And the bigger your collection of contacts, the more likely you are to strike gold with this proven technique. Build your networking with these great sources of contacts.

Family
Blood is always a strong bond, which can compel people to do favors they might not offer to other people. And when it comes to "family" for networking, don't limit yourself to just your spouse and siblings. Stay in touch with cousins, nephews, aunts, uncles, in-laws and anyone else on the family tree. You never know who they know and how such contacts could help.

Friends
Stay in touch with all your friends and aquaintences, even if only by sending an occassional email from time to time. Again, you never know how they might be able to help you. And come job sarch time you don't want to be calling out of the blue after five years of no communication. It sounds self-serving and phony.

Professional Associations
These are some of the very best places to make contacts for job search networking. They are, after all, groups of people who are working in the field and actively making connections themselves. Better yet, the people who regularly give time to professional associations also tend to be among the recognizable people in any given industry -- the choicest of all contacts.

Clubs
Don't forget about your hobbies and spare-time interests. Granted, it may be just your passion for model airplanes or needlepoint that brings a dozen or so of you together once a month. But during the day those enthusiasts may be lawyers, pipefitters, accountants, electricians, or bank managers. If you don't currently belong to any clubs, you can find some great local ones through Meetup.com. At this Website, visitors can organize and publicize informal groups focused on a huge spectrum of interests.

Religious Groups
Bible studies, prayer groupes, and church social commitees can be great for talking about your career goals, hopes, and aspirations. These are like-minded people who are eager to help. Obviously you shouldn't overdo such practical aims it in these situations though.

Civic Groups
Like professional associations, much of the reason people join civic groups is to meet people and build professional contacts. So the people there tend to be extremely well connected -- another great source of contacts.

Business Functions
Attending seminars, meetings, and other business events are a terrific way to meet people. You never know who you might be sitting next to. Yes, you'll probably need to improve your skills in starting conversations. But that's an ability you should learn and perfect anyway. Start by just saying "Hi." Then relax and see where it takes you.

Anywhere
Once you improve your ability to start conversations, you may just find yourself meeting people in all sorts of places. It took me a long time to get the courage and skills necessary to begin talking to people out of the blue. But now I routinely meet people in coffee shops, stores, and other public places. Some of them have become terrific friends that I regularly stay in touch with.

Whatever sort of places you find most fertile for job search networking, the real key is to get involved, stay active, and keep in touch. The one caveat is that you should be careful when you join groups purely for the purpose of networking. Not that it's a bad reason to join. It's often necessity in a job search. Just don't don't be too blatant or single-minded about it. If you need to increase your social involvements for networking, look for situations that would interest you anyway. Then let the contacts happen naturally from that.