Your network includes a wide variety of people you already know—and people you don’t.
Think about these different types of people who make up your network:
Sources are people who have inside information about specific businesses, including:
- The likelihood a company is hiring
- Who the hiring decision makers are within the company
- The types of skills that matter most to hiring decision makers
- The pay, prospects for advancement, workplace environment, and other information that enables you to decide if the company will be a good fit for you
Recommenders are contacts willing and able to facilitate a meeting between you and a hiring decision maker, either by passing along your resume and a recommendation, or by writing recommendation letters or serving as a reference.
Hiring Decision Makers are those directly involved in the hiring process, including business owners, human resources representatives, team leaders, supervisors, or department heads.
Linkers can introduce you to Sources and Recommenders, and in some cases, to Hiring Decision Makers. There is a good chance that when you begin to develop a list of your network contacts, most of the people you initially identify will be Linkers who offer you connections to Linkers closer to the employers you want to reach.
Exercise: Identify network contacts
Brainstorm to identify people you know; these are your primary contacts. They don't need to know about job leads, but they might know other people that have knowledge of job leads, occupational information, employer contacts, etc.
Use these categories, as relevant to you, to begin your brainstorm:
- Relatives (including in-laws, aunts, uncles, cousins, and distant relatives)
- Members of your military unit, including those who separated before you
- Local and out-of-town friends
- Current and past neighbors
- Friends of your parents and parents of your children’s friends
- Informal or interest groups you belong to such as sports teams, hobbies, health club, etc.
- Members of your place of worship, clergy and staff
- Teachers
- Staff of your Military Transition Office
- Former co-workers, employers, supervisors, and employees
- Classmates