I’m feeling a bit frustrated with some people. They’re out of work and struggling to land a job.
So, I asked, “Are you doing the networking activities I recommended every single day?”
They reply, “Well, no. Not really. I made some calls but stopped. But I’ve been applying for dozens of jobs every week! It’s not working!”
Yeah, no kidding. Of course, it isn’t working.
Did you think I was joking when I said cold applications are a waste of time?
When I always say you have to connect with people and find your inside connections and champions?
Okay, maybe you think I have some ulterior motive? Maybe you think I’m trying to persuade you to hire me for job search coaching.
Let me be very, very clear:
You Do Not Have to Pay Me a Single $ to Use Networking to Land a Job!!!!!
As a matter of fact, if you use this strategy (the one I’ve been hammering home for almost eight years now), you can land a job without the help of any coach!
It’s how I landed all my tech jobs over almost 20 years. You know, that amazing job I had at Apple that set my career up for life? Yeah, like that.
If you still don’t believe me, let me share a recent post from someone who used networking to land a job in this terrible market. This is an independent 3rd party. They are not my client or even a close friend. I don’t really know them.
Here we go. Pay attention to what they were doing every day, but pay more attention to what actually happened and how they actually landed some interviews.
![Job search journey](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_474,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb3c9f256-c4f4-40ee-8072-c0b34ff9b843_1290x755.jpeg)
![Job search journey](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_474,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F44bf8580-12ef-4526-97aa-643e7279eff7_1290x734.jpeg)
![Job search journey](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_474,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe8c98fba-738a-4d5a-91cc-de22f7279ad8_1290x800.jpeg)
![Job search journey](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_720,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5efea6d2-7acf-4424-97f3-2a3da6815add_1290x852.jpeg)
![Job search journey](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_720,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb47c1253-f824-46b5-907b-9142455768b4_1290x918.jpeg)
![Job search journey](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_720,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F19561143-8648-4974-98a4-45c8852fdc0e_1290x889.jpeg)
![Job search journey](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_720,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd032ead0-30f4-4131-b88d-573cfa51bf51_1290x666.jpeg)
They applied to 147 jobs, but they only landed 2 interviews! And—drumroll, please—those interviews happened because they knew someone inside the company.
“The only places I interviewed for (there were 2) were both because I knew someone who was able to give my resume to a live person and say, hire my friend.”
Folks, I wish getting a job in this economy was easy, but it is not. I wish you could simply apply online, get lots of interviews, and land a sweet job offer. But 99.9% of you will not.
If you are seriously looking for a job, make finding a new job your full-time job.
Start connecting with people in your network every single day.
Meet with 3-4 people every single day.
Ask each person, “Is there anyone else you’d recommend I meet? Can you introduce me to them?”
Keep doing this until you start discovering those opportunities no one else knows about—yet.
I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with you to optimize your career, business, and life. My mission is to help you become a more "Invincible You" so you can live your life on your terms instead of being controlled by someone else's rules. I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and our Great Dane.