We’ve all heard, and mostly believe, that networking is the key to a job search. Despite this, so often I see people do something that on reflection is so backwards. They apply for a job and then look for connections within the company. Far too often I see emails along the lines of “I’ve just applied at XYZ company, ‘who knows somebody who works there?'”

Please don’t do that! Turn it around. Make connections first. Learn about the company, the culture, the job. Then apply, assuming you’re the right fit.

“But wait,” you may say, “the posting is up now, I know there will be hundreds/thousands of applicants, I need to be in the first group.” Really? Is being first more important than having connection? If you take that approach, let me know how it works out for you. Besides, networking into a company doesn’t have to be hard or time consuming. It’s actually fairly easy to do that networking if you have a plan, and it can happen quickly!

Networking in a hurry. Guess I’ll have to address that soon.

Related:
5 Things Jobseekers NEED to Know About LinkedIn

Last updated: 10/20/2014

You can find all my Job-Search related articles here. Please remember, a job search is normally an ordered set of steps. If you try to skip steps, it usually doesn?t work out well.