By Andrew Beccue

The phrase “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” is the basis of today’s job market, and some people are finding that out the hard way. It’s not enough to go to a good school and earn a degree anymore. Nowadays most everyone you compete with for a position will have a college degree similar to yours. So to beat out the other applicants in the running for that perfect job, you need to have something that the others do not: a connection. That connection, a person you know on the inside, can give you a recommendation that can push your application over the edge and snag you the job.

Developing these crucial connections requires networking. What usually comes to mind when you think of networking is social events in which people exchange information to try to make connections. This can be intimidating, but this is only the conventional idea of networking. If you think about it, you already have a great network of friends and family that can help in your job search. This is a great basis for your network but you also need to expand it to include religious affiliations, co-workers, volunteers groups, and professional associations. It is also helpful to go to networking events to further expand your network.

Once you have your network, you can begin to ask questions like: » Read more: Networking: It’s Not What You Know, It’s Who You Know