Need a Job? Forget About Building a Network Now

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It’s job hunting season – but if you are looking for a job, the last thing you should be doing is building a network. Counterintuitive, perhaps, but here are three reasons why:

It’s Too Late

Building a network is a lot like planning your retirement; it takes a lot of little inputs over a long period of time. Both are built so you can cash in when you need it the most – at retirement, or in this case, when you need a job (or some other huge favor).

But if you need a job now and you haven’t been building your network, you are screwed. You may as well try opening your 401k at 50 – the math just doesn’t add up. And just like you won’t get by for 20 years on $100,000, you won’t land a great gig on a network held together by shoestrings.

So stop trying to build your network in hopes you will get a job from it. It’s too late. Instead, work on your charm and get a job that way. Then work on building your network in case your charm runs out and you need a job again.

The Law of Diminishing Returns Doesn’t Lie

Here’s what it takes to build a network: Emails. Lunch dates. Networking events. Social gatherings.

All of these take time. In fact, each thing on this list takes the same amount of time the first time you do it and the twentieth time you do it. So when you build a network, you are giving the same amount of time to each network connection. After a certain number of people, though, you start building very weak ties that aren’t going to help you in the end – when you need a job.

This is the law of diminishing returns. Same amount of input for each person, less results as you spread yourself too thin.

So consider first, how many people you can actually fit in your network. A strong connection is worth much more than ten weak ties – put your time where it matters, preferably before you need a job. Then when you need a job, use the strong connections you’ve built to get one, instead of wasting your energy on creating more weak ties.

You Already Know the Right People Anyway

Here’s the thing about getting a job: no matter how much you need a job to pay the bills, you should still try to get the best match that you can for your personality. Not only will you perform better, but you will also stay longer, which means less job hunting. Finding a job that matches your personality comes down to finding the types of people you should be working with.

It turns out you already have plenty of good network connections to find a group of people you will work well with. Like your ex-boyfriend you still talk to sometimes. Because really, good dating skills = good working skills, and people are drawn to others like them. So if you know someone you thought was a good date, he probably works with other people you will like too. Or if you have a friend you meet up with for lunch regularly, she might be able to score you an interview with her manager pal in another department.

In the end, your friends will get you a job, not your “network,” because your friends will connect you with people they like, who are probably like them. And you like your friends, right?

How would you use your network to get a job? Leave your thoughts in the comments section!