I know I go on about networking – especially to get out of the ‘redundant’ trap – and I do it for a reason:

Who’s more likely to want to help you get back on the ladder of your choice – someone who knows, respects and likes you or someone you’ve never met?

Only three times in my entire working career have I got a job by responding to a published vacancy:

• The first was a long time ago when I was not long back in this country, new to town and knew very few people. That started my career in sales and sales training and I stayed with the company for seven years.
• The second turned out not to be looking for employees but to become an IFA (Independent Financial Advisor) tied to one company. It didn’t suit me and I left within six weeks.
• The third was selling mobile phones and air time contracts. I should have known from the outset that it wouldn’t be right for me. It was like a production line: Sell what’s in stock regardless of the customer’s requirements. I lasted about three months.

In retrospect, networking (even though we wouldn’t have called it that back then) has tended to bring very different results. Here are three networking outcomes that easily spring to mind:

• Seven hours a week using the telephone to open doors for the company of an ex work mate’s sister developed into a full time job with various responsibilities and continued until the company was sold three years later.
• A phone call to someone I’d tried to sell to (unsuccessfully!) in the past got an introduction to a 2-week ‘helping out’ post – that lasted for two years.
• A phone call on the suggestion of the MD of one place I worked to the CEO of another led to the creation of job specifically around my skills base – and that job (and salary ) grew over the next six years.

There are several differences between the networking approach and responding to advertised vacancies but two main ones stand out to me:

1. In the networking instances people who knew me opened the door for me – it was still up to me thereon in to make what I could of the opportunity
2. Nobody could have predicted what that door would lead to

So be adventurous – have a go – you don’t know where it might lead !