Starting a job search is intimidating, especially if you have been in the same place for years and have not had to look in a long time. The instinct is to open a job board and start applying. That is the least effective place to begin, and it is the reason so many searches feel like shouting into a void. Most jobs are filled through people, not postings. This guide covers where to actually start, how to build a network from scratch, and the alternative routes — informational interviews, volunteering, and temporary work — that reach openings before they are advertised.
Decide What You Are Looking For First
Before you write a word of a resume, get specific about what you want: the responsibilities, the pay range you need, the hours, the commute, and the kind of workplace you can stand. Write a list of what does and does not work about your current or most recent job. That list is the thing that stops you from spending six months landing a role that repeats the exact problem you were trying to leave.
Then make a target list of employers rather than a target list of job titles. Twenty companies you would genuinely like to work for is a more useful document than a saved search, because it tells you who to talk to even in the months when none of them are hiring.
Start With People You Already Know
Networking has an unfortunate name. In practice it means telling the people who already know you that you are looking, and being specific enough that they can recognize an opportunity when they see one. Surveys of job seekers have consistently found that referrals and personal contacts account for a far larger share of hires than newspaper or online advertisements ever have.
Everyone’s network is bigger than they think. Write down names in each of these categories:
- Friends, relatives, and current and former neighbors
- Current and former co-workers, and former managers
- Classmates, instructors, and your school’s alumni association
- People from clubs, teams, congregations, and volunteer work
- Professionals you deal with — your accountant, insurance agent, doctor, banker
- People you do business with regularly, including vendors and customers from past jobs
What you ask for matters. “Let me know if you hear of anything” is easy to agree to and easy to forget. “I am looking for a scheduling or operations role at a mid-sized employer within about 30 minutes of here — do you know anyone at any of these five companies?” gives someone something they can actually act on.
Then Build a B List
Once you have spoken to everyone you know, you need names of people you do not know but who are positioned to help. Ways to build that list:
- Your alumni association — many maintain directories that show where graduates now work.
- Trade and professional associations in your field, locally and nationally. Membership often comes with a directory and, more usefully, with meetings.
- Company websites — the “About,” “Leadership,” and press pages name the people who run the departments you would work in.
- LinkedIn — search by company and job title, and look for second-degree connections where someone you know can introduce you.
- Anyone you already spoke to. Close every conversation with “who else should I be talking to?” That one question is what turns ten contacts into a hundred.
The Informational Interview
An informational interview is a short conversation you request in order to learn about someone’s work — not to ask them for a job. It is the most underused tool in job hunting, and it reaches what people call the hidden job market: roles that are filled before they are ever posted.
What it gets you: an inside view of an industry or company, honest answers to questions that would be awkward in a real interview, an early warning about openings, and occasionally an advocate who will pass your name along.
- Ask for 20 minutes and mean it. Watch the clock and end on time.
- Be clear it is not a job request. Say so when you ask; it is why people say yes.
- Prepare real questions — how they got into the field, what a normal week looks like, what skills they would build first if starting today, what is changing in the industry.
- Do not hand over a resume unless asked. It converts the conversation into the thing you promised it was not.
- Ask who else to talk to, and send a thank-you note the same day.
Give People Something to Hold On To
A job seeker’s card is a plain business card with your name, phone number, email, and the kind of role you are looking for — optionally two or three lines of skills. You can print them at home or order them cheaply online.
Hand one to anyone you meet during a search, even people who obviously cannot help, because tomorrow they may think of something and need a way to reach you. Attach one to applications and to notes requesting informational interviews. Do not crowd it — a card that tries to be a resume gets thrown away like one.
Volunteering as Career Exploration
If you are considering a field but not ready to spend years and tuition finding out whether you like it, volunteering answers the question cheaply. Volunteer in a hospital before committing to nursing school; work with a conservation group before retraining as an ecologist.
Volunteer work belongs on your resume when it is relevant, and it should be written the same way as paid work — with a result. “Chaired the fundraising committee; the annual auction raised $30,000, up from $22,000 the year before” is a real accomplishment, and it demonstrates skills an employer can use. It also fills a gap on a resume with something other than silence.
Temporary and Contract Work
Temping has an outdated reputation as a last resort. Staffing agencies now place people at every level, from entry-level clerical work to senior specialists and interim executives, and assignments frequently run six months to a year.
It is worth considering when you want to test a field, when you are relocating, when you need income while searching, or when you want a look inside a company that is not currently hiring permanently — a substantial share of temporary assignments turn into offers. Ask the agency directly about benefits and whether the role is temp-to-hire, and understand that as a contract worker your tax and benefits situation may differ from a permanent employee’s.
Run the Search Like a Job
- Set weekly targets you control — conversations had and applications sent, not offers received. You cannot control who calls back.
- Track everything in a simple spreadsheet: company, role, date applied, contact, and what happened. By week six you will not remember otherwise.
- Follow up once, about a week after applying, then move on.
- Keep applying after a good interview. Searches stall when people stop and wait.
- Protect your finances early. If the search may run long, look at what to do after losing a job and at unemployment benefits before money gets tight, not after.
When the conversations start turning into interviews, move on to preparing for the interview itself.