Networking: A Consumer Guide to an Effective Job Search

January 2003

Finding a job is hard and it can be a daunting process. To improve one's chances of landing a job, using a networking strategy can help. What is networking? Networking is about collecting information, educating yourself about employment opportunities, and increasing your list of professional contacts who may be aware of employment opportunities and informing them of your potential availability.

The Institute for Community Inclusion conducted a study and found that using a networking approach to find jobs for people with disabilities helped in three ways:

1. people found jobs with better pay
2. people worked more hours
3. the job search took less time

This helpful consumer guide can be downloaded in various formats from the ICI Publications web page.