This weekend I spent several hours planting colorful pansies as well crocus and iris bulbs in my front yard.  The purple, yellow and white pansies add spots of color that make me smile.  My across-the-street neighbor, Cathy, complimented my pansy plantings, which helped me feel even better about my gardening efforts.

On the other hand, I experienced no immediate gratification for the hard work of planting 150 crocus and iris bulbs about four inches beneath the soil, and the digging, preparation of the beds, and planting actually took considerably more time and effort than the pansies.  The lovely display of blooms pictured on the bulb packaging helped provide motivation to continue with my bulb planting project despite knowing that I wouldn’t see any results for my efforts for at least 3-4 months. 

What does planting bulbs have to do with networking?  If you’ve been in a job search for any length of time, you’ve no doubt learned that networking is the most effective way to land your next position.  At least 60% of jobs are found through networking, and I’ve even seen some numbers as high as 80%.  What’s odd is that while most people understand that networking is the key to a successful job search, I don’t see many job seekers who are actively pursuing a strategic networking plan.  Unfortunately, networking can be like bulb planting because of the lack of an immediate ROI for networking efforts.  The seeds you plant today in a networking meeting might not ”bloom” until several months later when that individual learns about a new position in her company that would be a perfect fit for you.  

I’ve heard plenty of job seekers share that they have applied for hundreds of online job postings, and that applying online has been the sole activity in their search.  Pursuing online postings can give the illusion of productivity.  (I applied for five jobs today!)  Most people don’t realize the dismal statistics–that only 5-10% of those in a search have success landing a position using this approach. 

Networking can be difficult, requires patience, and rarely brings immediate results.  But it is how every job seeker should be spending the majority of their time.  In my next post, I’ll share some ideas for designing a smart and effective plan for your job search networking.   

What “bulbs” are you planting this week as part of your networking strategy?