????And speaking of relatives, Gurney points out that many job seekers overlook their own family members' and close friends' professional networks. "If you know someone very well on a personal level, you may not be aware of how many business connections they have," he says. Include them in your information-gathering efforts, and you could be pleasantly surprised.
????4. Defining your talents and interests too narrowly. Just because you've always been, say, a human resources manager doesn't mean your next job will necessarily be in human resources management. "It's a mistake to be out there talking with people without authentic passion about what you'd really like to do next," Gurney notes. "Too often, job hunters don't give themselves permission to go after what they really want."
????The early years of a career, he adds, are "just R&D for the second half. You don't have to stick with one thing all your life. You can take what you've learned so far and make a purposeful plan for applying it" -- either in a related field or in some other kind of role where your skills and experience could be even more valuable.
????A sixth mistake, which you mention in your question: Hesitating to get in touch with people you haven't seen or spoken with in a while. You're far from alone in this. Jayne Mattson, a senior vice president at executive coaching firm Keystone Associates, says she encounters the same reluctance in many of the job seekers she counsels, who often say things like, "'Everyone's so busy, I've always done things on my own, I hate to bother people,'" she notes. "But your job now is to find a job. Why would you think you could succeed at any new job all on your own?"
????Mattson gets her clients past this hurdle by asking them, "If someone you know called to ask for information or guidance related to their job hunt, would you give it to them?" Says Mattson, "Of course the answer is yes. So why would you assume someone you know would not want to help you? Think about it."
Talkback: If you've found a new job by tapping your network, what approach helped you the most? What have you found is least effective? Leave a comment below.
