First I must offer an apology. It has been difficult to pay close attention to this blog, and its sister: jobstuff.blogdrive.com. In the midst of a very positive and intense job search, there was not much bandwidth for writing. I was maintaining my current position while searching for something new & greater.

However, the search is over and I cannot wait to share with you the experiences and learning’s - and offerings of business networking advice. I will not identify the company; however it is an excellent opportunity for me and a great group of individuals.

For today I want to share with you how this position came about. Did you guess it was business networking? You're right on!

I will admit when my voluntary journey began in November, my focus was on recruiters, job boards and some light networking. I did not have the time to begin cultivating a new network. I was hunting, no time for farming. And in the end, it was my pre-existing network that I built in the past three years that came through, plus one bit of technology.

Here is my story:

A friend and fellow blogger, Jim Stroud (Jobseekers Revenge) sent me an email that described the new job listing tools on LinkedIn. Even as a linkedin member, I was not aware of this new feature. I scanned the jobs and found one that was very interesting. Although not an advocate of submitting my resume through job boards, I thought it might be an interesting experiment. Plus, my thinking was that select and focused job boards might be more receptive to resumes (less volume, higher quality). LinkedIn is becoming quite a powerful business networking medium. I'll write more about LinkedIn shortly.

However, immediately after submitting my resume I realized - DUH - I should use LinkedIn to see if anyone I know can assist me with handling my resume at this company. And right there, someone I have been networking with extensively (yes you David), not only knows this team of people, but worked there previously. David S. quickly sent an email to his contact that carried my praises to the hiring executive. An effective one-two punch. And it worked; it got me in the door! The rest is interview history!

What's the lesson here: You never know how your network will come to your assistance, so keep it evergreen. For both of the individuals listed in this entry, I have provided assistance and support - and it came back in a great way. Thanks Jim, David and LinkedIn !!

and - yes, I have extended my business networking during this search, which I will also share in upcoming blog entries.

Stephen Harris

One quick Networking Post Note: Another person in my business network played an important role in this success story. John F. was consulting at the company and happens to be working in an office adjacent to the hiring executive. I wasn't aware that he was working at this company, but he did a voluntary follow-up with the hiring executive, providing him with a recommendation. Networking came together big time for me. Both via the electronic LinkedIn networking tool and people!