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1. As Unemployment Claims Rise,
Networking Skills Become More
Important

2. The latest report by the U.S.
Department of Labor reinforced just
how important networking skills are to
anyone making a professional job
change.

3. According to the Department, the
number of people seeking
unemployment benefits rose in late
December. During the second-to-last
week of the month, in fact, weekly
unemployment applications jumped
by 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted
381,000, according to the Labor
Department.

4. Job Search Competition

5. It’s not a great way to close the year
and it’s intimidating news for anyone
in the process of finding a job today.
Fortunately, there is a tool that job
applicants can use to boost their
executive job search: networking.

6. The truth is, when job seekers apply to
a listing at even the best job sites,
they’re competing against hundreds of
others seeking that same position. It’s
not easy for job hunters, even the
most qualified ones, to make their
resumes stand out.

7. Networking Skills Can Help

8. This is where networking skills come
in. By networking with past co-
workers, former bosses, old college
professors, and even friends and
family members, job hunters can boost
their odds of finding those positions in
the hidden job market – the positions
that attract far fewer applicants.

9. For instance, job hunters who mingle
with a local business leader at a
chamber of commerce event might
discover that that the bank two towns
over will soon need a new manager.
That job seeker can give the bank a call
in the hopes of scheduling an
interview before the bank even posts
their soon-to-be-open position.

10. Job seekers might even discover that
their next door neighbor is the sister
of the hiring manager at a nearby
public relations firm. That hiring
manager might, on the
recommendation of his sister, consider
scheduling an interview with the job
seeker.

11. The Hidden Job Market

12. In both examples, job hunters would
have missed out on hot employment
leads if they hadn’t brushed up on
their networking skills.

13. Networking can prove challenging,
especially to those job seekers who
haven’t had to look for new
employment in several years. By
networking, both through traditional
face-to-face meetings with area
business professionals and former co-
workers and through such social media
sites as LinkedIn and Facebook, job
hunters give themselves the best
chance of finding that new position.

14. Interested in Finding Out More about
Job Search Strategies and Job Search
Advice? Please come and visit us at
http://www.GetHiredFast.com