Networking in a job search means talking with people who know your field, your target companies or your next role, so you learn what is out there and who can speak for you. It works best when you ask for information and advice, not for a job. This guide shows you who to contact, what to write, what to ask and how to keep the relationship going after the first reply.
TL;DR
- Start with the people you already know. Family, former coworkers, teachers, neighbors and friends of friends all count as your network.
- Ask for a short informational interview, not a job. Your goal is career research, and referrals tend to follow from good conversations.
- Update your resume and LinkedIn profile before you send a single message, and add a personal note to every connection request.
- Send a thank-you within 2 to 3 days, then follow up politely and stay in touch.
- Treat networking as a weekly habit with small targets, not a one-time burst of outreach.
Table of Contents
- What networking really means when you are job hunting
- Is it true that most jobs are found through networking?
- Start with the network you already have
- Find people at the companies you want
- Get your materials ready first
- How to start the conversation
- What to ask in an informational interview
- Network online and at events
- Follow up and keep the relationship alive
- Our perspective: networking and applying should work together
- A simple weekly routine
- Turn a conversation into an application
- FAQ
- Sources
What networking really means when you are job hunting
Most people hear "networking" and picture a crowded room, name tags and awkward small talk. In practice it is much simpler. The U.S. Department of Labor describes it as using the people you know to help with your job search, and it notes that everyone already has a network that can matter as much as your skills and experience.
A New York State Department of Labor guide frames it as meeting new people and building mutually beneficial partnerships or exchanging information. The word "mutual" matters. A good conversation helps both sides, and, as Columbia's career education team points out, contacts often appreciate the interaction when you handle it well.
There is also a practical payoff. A university career services guide says networking can raise your chances of landing a job or internship and can grow into ongoing professional mentorship. That second benefit often outlasts the job search itself.
Is it true that most jobs are found through networking?
You will see the claim everywhere: most jobs are never posted. The honest version is that it is an estimate, not a measured law. The New York State Department of Labor says an estimated 80% of jobs are filled through the hidden job market, meaning positions that are not advertised, including those filled by referral. The Department of Labor's networking handout cites Cornell University's Career Center for a similar figure, 80% of available jobs not advertised.
Treat those numbers as a reason to add networking to your routine, not as a promise that applying online is pointless. Job boards still produce interviews. But if you only apply to posted roles, you compete in the most crowded lane.
Two other figures are worth knowing:
- McGill University's career resources say 25% of job seekers get positions by cold-contacting employers, which means researching organizations you like and reaching out whether or not anyone referred you.
- The New York guide reports that 25% of job seekers make over 1,000 network contacts before finding a good job. That is a reminder that this is a long game, and that rejection or silence is normal.
One more data point is often quoted: according to Quintessential Careers, as cited by the Department of Labor, one in 12 informational interviews results in a job offer. Those are decent odds for a free conversation.
Start with the network you already have
The most common mistake is thinking you have no network. The Department of Labor describes a personal network as the people you deal with regularly: family, friends, parents of friends, friends of friends, neighbors, teachers, bosses and coworkers.
Spend 20 minutes writing a list in a spreadsheet or notebook. Put these groups on it:
- Former coworkers and managers. They know your work and can describe it credibly.
- Classmates, teachers and alumni. Alumni often answer messages from people who share their school.
- Neighbors, friends and relatives. They may not work in your field, but someone they know probably does.
- Professional groups and communities. Local chapters, online forums and volunteer groups.
For each name, write one line: how you know them, when you last spoke and what they might know about. You will not contact everyone. The list simply shows you where the warm paths are, so you are never starting from zero.
Find people at the companies you want
Once you have a target list of companies, look for people who work there. Yale's Office of Career Strategy suggests searching employees at a target company on LinkedIn and filtering by location, job function or school. The same page notes that company careers pages may list HR contacts, About Us or Team pages may name people, and LinkedIn company pages show key employees.
A few filters make the search practical:
- Same school or alumni group, which gives you an instant reason to write.
- Same job title as the one you want, so you can ask what the work is really like.
- People who were recently hired. They remember the process and are often happy to share it.
Aim for people one or two steps ahead of you, not only executives. A mid-level colleague has more time and a clearer memory of how they got in.
Get your materials ready first
Before you reach out, check your own pages. A university career center advises that you update your resume and LinkedIn profile first so they accurately reflect your accomplishments and make a good first impression. People will click your profile after reading your message, so do not make them wait on a stale headline.
There is a practical angle too. A Coursera guide suggests people with well-developed LinkedIn profiles, including photos and summaries, tend to be more active users and more likely to reply. That is a perspective, not a rule, but it fits common sense: a complete profile looks trustworthy to the person receiving your message.
If a contact later offers to pass your resume along, you want a version that is ready for that specific role. Our guide on how to tailor your resume for every job walks through that process, and honest keyword matching shows how to mirror a posting without stretching the truth.
How to start the conversation
The first message decides everything. The University of Tampa's career guide advises that, whether you write by email or LinkedIn, you explain who you are, why you are reaching out and that you want a brief informational interview, not a job, and then ask when they are available.
Columbia's guidance backs the framing: the primary purpose is career research, not getting a job. That takes pressure off both people. And if you are using LinkedIn, UC Davis advises you to add a note explaining why you want to connect instead of sending the blank default request.
A message you can adapt
Hi Maria, I'm a marketing analyst with four years of experience in e-commerce, and I found your profile through our shared alma mater. I'm exploring a move into product analytics and admire the work your team does. Would you be open to a 20-minute call in the next couple of weeks so I can learn how you got into the field? I'm happy to work around your schedule.
Why it works: it is short, it names the connection, it says exactly what you want and it makes the request small. It never asks for a job.
McGill's career resources add a useful note on tone: communicate your own skills, values and motivations authentically instead of trying to guess what an employer wants to hear. People can tell when you are performing.
What to ask in an informational interview
An informational interview is, in the words of one university guide, a focused conversation with a professional to explore a field and learn from their experiences. The same guide recommends open-ended questions about the person's career path, company, daily work and industry challenges.
Here is a set you can draw from:
- How did you get into this field, and what did you do before this role?
- What does a normal week look like for you?
- What skills matter most on your team, and which ones are easy to overlook?
- What is the hardest part of the job that people outside it rarely see?
- Where do you see the industry heading in the next few years?
- Is there anyone else you recommend I connect with?
That last question is the engine of networking. One conversation becomes two or three introductions, and each introduction arrives with a warm opening line.
Keep the call to the time you asked for. Take notes, and listen more than you talk. If the person later says their team is hiring, that is a bonus, but do not steer toward it. A good way to prepare for any follow-on interview is our practical plan for preparing for a job interview.
Network online and at events
You do not have to love crowded rooms. McGill's guide recommends that you keep your LinkedIn profile updated and attend career-related conferences and events to meet people. Both channels work, and you can mix them to fit your personality.
If you prefer writing: send messages, comment thoughtfully on posts from people in your field and join online groups. Written contact is often easier to start with, especially if you are shy.
If you prefer talking: go to local meetups, industry talks, alumni gatherings and virtual job fairs. Set a small goal, such as speaking with two people, and leave when you hit it.
If you want something in between: volunteer for a professional association. Working on a task together creates natural conversations that feel less forced than mingling.
Follow up and keep the relationship alive
The conversation is only the beginning. A University of Texas career guide says a career conversation is not a job interview or a way to ask for a job, and it recommends a thank-you email within 2 to 3 days and staying in touch.
If you do not hear back, do not assume rejection. McGill's career resources say that, as long as you are polite and professional, a follow-up email or a second phone call is necessary. People are busy, and a short nudge is usually welcome.
Ways to stay in touch without asking for anything:
- Share an article that relates to something they said.
- Tell them when you acted on their advice and how it went.
- Congratulate them on a promotion or a project launch.
- Send a brief update when you land a role, and thank them again.
When the networking leads to an application, the same courtesy applies. Our guide with templates on how to follow up on a job application covers that stage.
Our perspective: networking and applying should work together
We built WorkHunt around a simple observation: job seekers lose the most time on guesswork. They don't know whether their resume fits a posting, so they send it and wait. Networking has the same problem. People contact someone, get an introduction and then have no tailored resume, no prepared answers and no record of who they spoke to.
We think the two efforts belong together. A referral gets you noticed, but the resume still has to match the role, and the interview still has to go well. That is why we let you paste a job link, see every proposed resume edit next to your original, and approve or revert each change yourself. You keep a master resume, so a quick request from a contact never means rebuilding from scratch.
We also believe your data is yours. Your information stays private and is not used for AI training. And since networking produces many threads, we keep applications tracked in one place, from the first message to the offer, so nothing slips.
If you take one idea from us: the people who reply to you are doing you a favor, and a polished, targeted resume honors their time.
— CoffeeDrop
A simple weekly routine
Consistency beats intensity. Here is one way to spread the work so it does not feel overwhelming:
| Day | Task | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Pick three people from your list or from LinkedIn searches and send personal messages | 30 minutes |
| Tuesday | Reply to responses, schedule calls, update your tracker | 15 minutes |
| Wednesday | Hold one informational interview and take notes | 30 minutes |
| Thursday | Send thank-you emails within 2 to 3 days of each call | 15 minutes |
| Friday | Review who needs a follow-up, and share one useful article or update | 20 minutes |
That is about two hours a week. After a month you will have had several conversations, and some will turn into introductions you could not have found alone.
If you have been sending applications with no responses, networking may be the missing piece. Our article on sending 50 resumes and getting zero callbacks looks at what else to check, and our job search guides cover the rest of the process.
Turn a conversation into an application
When a contact mentions an open role or offers to refer you, move fast but stay prepared. You will want a resume tailored to that posting, a cover letter that matches and a clear sense of how you fit the requirements.
WorkHunt is built for that moment. Paste the job link and you get a tailored resume, a fit analysis that shows requirements and gaps, and a matching cover letter. You can then practice with interview prep drawn from the same posting, including coding questions with instant grading and mock interviews by voice or text with performance metrics. There is a Free plan with limited features, Pro starts from $15 per month, and Enterprise Pro is available for teams. Details are on the WorkHunt pricing and plans page.
FAQ
Is it awkward to network when you are unemployed?
It is common, and most people understand. Be direct and positive: say what kind of role you are exploring and ask for advice, not for a job. Framing the chat as career research keeps it comfortable for both of you.
What is the best networking site for finding jobs?
LinkedIn is the platform the university career offices in this guide point to most, especially for searching employees at a target company and filtering by school, location or function. Company careers and team pages are also useful for finding names. Pick one main platform and keep your profile current there before you spread out.
How many people should I contact?
There is no magic number, and the research shows it can take many contacts: the New York State Department of Labor reports that 25% of job seekers make over 1,000 contacts before finding a good job. A steady rhythm of a few personal messages a week is more sustainable than a burst of mass messages. Quality and follow-up matter more than volume.
What if someone doesn't reply?
Silence usually means busy, not no. A polite follow-up email or second call is considered necessary by career guidance at McGill University. If there is still no answer after a second try, move on and focus on other contacts.
Sources
- Networking, U.S. Department of Labor
- Find the Career You Love: Job Search and Networking, New York State Department of Labor
- Key Strategies for Networking and Informational Interviewing, Columbia Center for Career Education
- Networking and Informational Interviews, University of Tampa
- Finding Company Contacts, Yale Office of Career Strategy
- Networking, University Career Center, UT Dallas
- How to Get Interviews: Networking for Job Search Guide, Coursera
- Using LinkedIn, UC Davis
- Networking and job search, McGill University SKILLSETS
- Career Conversations Guide, University of Texas at Austin