Everyone has heard the cliche, “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” Although cliche, it is a cold hard fact. More positions are filled, from the local check-out girl at the supermarket, to cabinet positions appointed by the president. So if who you know is so important, then you realize how important networking is. Net working is the act of getting to know more and more people who are may be in a position to hire you, or know someone who is.

An important aspect of networking is to target the right group of people. If your forte is sales, then networking with the computer programmers in town probably won’t get you very far (although, it could). On the other hand, if you plan to be a computer programmer, you probably won’t find many networking leads at the golf course (although, you might).

At this point, it’s important to mention that you should really network everywhere you go, with every one you meet. You never know who will be the one who can help you the most. It sometimes occurs at the most unexpected places. One of my college buddies found his first job from a fellow he met while at his self-storage unit. An older man a couple of spaces down was having trouble getting something from the back of his unit, so my friend helped him out. They went to lunch afterwards, and the lunch turned into a job interview. He was eventually hired, and has become good friends with the man who hired him.

Another friend of mine, a mechanical engineering major, rarely studied. He spent much of his time at the golf course. We thought he was just goofing off. As it turns out, he was networking with the rich folks who frequent the golf course. He had already lined up a management position with a company whose CEO he met at the club, and had become golfing partners with. My friend’s ability to network so effectively put him far ahead of the other college students who were studying, fretting about finals, and pulling all-nighters, much less worrying about getting a job after college.

At any rate, your networking efforts should be directed at the places and people who are most likely able to help you. A future manager might fare well networking at a golf course. A computer programmer may fare better connecting with a local programmers’ meetup.

Our smartphones have become nearly as important (or more important) as our vehicles in our daily lives. Our smartphones serve as our communication link with everyone and everything outside of our immediate surroundings. We use them to talk, collaborate, email, plan, just to name a few. Ask any cell phone repair shop, and they’ll tell you that their customers feel naked and ineffective without their smartphones to rely on. Here are some ideas for using your cell phone to help you to network.

LinkedIn App

The most obvious way to use your cell phone to network is to download and use the LinkedIn app. In a nutshell, LinkedIn is ‘the Facebook for professionals’. Although Facebook is a great tool for staying in touch with old friends, LinkedIn is the gold standard for professional networking. The app is free, as is the basic LinkedIn account. So by installing the app and logging in with your account, you can use your phone to keep your professional network up to date, stay current with news relating to your industry, and even find jobs within your industry.

Facebook App

Now that we’ve covered the premier professional networking app, we can mention Facebook. Of course Facebook can be used for more than just staying in touch with old friends. You can follow companies you would like to work for, add more contacts, and of course, mine your old friends for information about future job openings. Who better to help you find a job than an old friend?

Meetup

Meetup is a great way to find and/or organize group meetings. You can find happenings that are related to your business network. When you connect with others in your industry or occupation, you grow your network. If you are an organizer, you can use Meetup to plan and execute your get-togethers. Whether you find or organize meetings, Meetup will help you.

Your cell phone is your link to the world, whether connecting to your family, or your business network. You take it everywhere you go so make sure it’s always working for you. Be sure to use it to its fullest potential.

Many of us have been there. You graduated and for whatever reason, you don’t have a job lined up. Maybe it’s the economy, maybe you are up against tough competition for the profession you chose, or maybe you were too focused on just getting through with a decent GPA that you missed out on the on-campus interviews. It doesn’t matter now, what matters is that you’ve graduated, and you have no income. It’s time to act! Now!

There are a multitude of ways of finding employment, so our suggestions aren’t going to be any any particular order. These are just items that are either a requirement for obtaining a job, or helpful in finding a job (or having a job find you).

Where’s the Résumé and What the Heck is a CV?

What we called a résumé in the ‘olden days’ is slowly being replaced with the Curriculum Vitae, or CV for short. What’s the difference between a résumé and a CV? A resume is a shorter document that briefly describes the applicant’s education, degrees and certifications as well as his/her job history as it relates to the position for which the résumé is being submitted. As such, the resume is often modified so that the skills presented match the job requirements. Because the résumé is usually only about one page, the content must be concise, powerful, and relevant.

A CV on the other hand is more of a description of your life’s accomplishments, often with a focus on academia. A CV has been used in the realm of research, health care positions or jobs relating to education for a while. Recently, the CV has become more mainstream. Although the CV is longer and more time consuming to read than a résumé, employers have come to prefer the CV because of its focus on what you’ve accomplished in the positions you’ve held, rather than just a list of responsibilities. A CV reveals what the author considers accomplishment worthy of including. It also separates applicants who simply fulfilled their responsibilities from those who went far and beyond, and actually accomplished as oppose to just performed.

Move on From Facebook and Instagram and Embrace LinkedIn

Facebook, Instagram and other social networks were fine when all that mattered was whose party you attended over the weekend, or who broke up with whom. You’ve graduated now, and if you don’t have a LinkedIn account yet (as you should), get one now! I said NOW. In a basic sense, LinkedIn is like an online, searchable database of CV’s. In other words, just by creating your LinkedIn account, you are instantly making your CV or résumé available to other professionals who are hiring.

LinkedIn goes far beyond being just an online repository of CV’s, it is a the leading networking tool available to business professionals. A vast majority of workers who consider themselves professionals will have a LinkedIn account. Even if you’ve just graduated and never had a LinkedIn account, their database will, by some wild Internet magic, find a list of people that you either know or have met and present you with their LinkedIn account so you may connect with them. Connect with as many friends, acquaintances and associates as you can. You never know when one of your LinkedIn connection’s manager asks if they know anyone who can fill an open position in the company. When they do, your name may pop up.

Find People Who Know Where the Jobs Are

If you hope to enter the job market as an accountant, hanging out on the weekends with your frat buddies who haven’t graduated yet isn’t going to get you a job (probably). On the other hand, taking a continuing education class, or joining a local professionals organization relating to your occupation could. The more people you meet in your designated occupation, the better the chance of running into one who knows of a vacant job position. So meet people who can help you.

Speaking of frat buddies, get to know their parents. Fraternities were created to be networking entities, extending even to parents. As a mechanical engineer in a fraternity, I had more than one frat buddy’s parent insist that I submit a résumé to their company and that they would ‘grease the skids’ for me when I graduated. Your friends’ parents (fraternity or not) are the logical best first place to begin networking. They already know you to some extent, are are already ‘approved’ by virtue of the fact that you are their offspring’s friend, and they have been in the workforce for quite some time.

Think in terms of volume. The more contacts you make, the better the chance of landing a job with one of them.

Pay For a Job

If you are really desperate, and at the end of your rope, find a headhunter. Headhunters are job agencies. They match employers with employees. Sometimes the employer won’t pay the fee, and so you may have to, but the good news is that it usually comes out of future earning with the company that hires you. In most cases, the company will pay the fee, but just be prepared to consider paying for it if the job is one that seems promising to you.

You may find that your acquaintances don’t agree with the idea of a headhunter, stating that if a headhunter can find you a job, you can find it just as well. The way I see it, a job is a job. The sooner you have one, the sooner you start on your professional career. Never mind the naysayers and go forward.

In Conclusion

Even after you’ve landed your job, you should still follow all of these suggestions above. You still need a LinkedIn account, you still need to network and you must keep padding your CV with accomplishments and education. Don’t assume that once you’ve obtained employment that you are set for life. You are just beginning. Baby steps.