One of the worst enemies in the job search is timidity. In the midst of a 24/7 barrage of communication - text messaging, IM, email, and the ever-present Blackberry - I have found that students and professionals alike can find millions of creative excuses for not calling or emailing casual contacts or acquaintances about job opportunities. The most frequent excuses I hear are, "I don't really know them that well," and, "I don't want to seem pushy or annoying." In my humble opinion, that's mostly BS. They are simply excuses for not doing something that may be uncomfortable and could lead to rejection.
Get over it! It's true that over 80% of jobs are found through networking, but networking does not mean just your friends and relatives. In fact, research has shown that weaker ties (i.e. friends of friends) are the most likely to help you in your job search. There is a war for talent raging in the marketplace and anyone involved in recruiting or hiring will tell you that they are always on the lookout for potential hires. Make it easy on them - give them a call or an email (but avoid the text messages if you can) and let them know you are looking. How else will they know???
I'll give you an excellent example. A good friend of mine at the university decided that it was time for her to start exploring external opportunities, but was turned off by the impersonal nature of online job boards and company websites. She was in a position where she worked with a number of private companies in the Indianapolis area, and one in particular, that she was interested in working for. She was nervous about emailing one of her contacts about a possible position - after all, what would she do if he blew her off and she had to work with him again? And she had only met him one time, for an hour. But she took a deep breath, calmed her nerves, and typed out a very professional, but direct, email asking about a potential position.
What happened? He invited her out to lunch that Friday to talk about the position - and then told her that they had just made an offer to someone else! Ouch - talk about a letdown.
However, they had a great conversation anyway and, unexpectedly, she got a call the next Wednesday asking if she could come in that Friday for an interview. It turns out that the first candidate had accepted an offer somewhere else. They were prepared to offer their backup candidate an offer, but after reviewing her resume decided to bring her in for a last minute interview - and she nailed it.
The next week she was the one who got the offer and is now enjoying her third week on the job - with a healthy raise, better co-workers, and a ton of confidence. All because she took a chance are reached out to someone she has worked with only once before. It wouldn't have happened if she hadn't put herself out there.
