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From The Archive

60. I don't know anybody.
Every survey ever done shows that the single most successful path to a new job is personal contacts. Yet, time and again people complain to me that they just don't know anybody who can help them gain entry to a particular company.

And that's flat-out wrong. So, I'm going to enumerate all the people you know who can help you.

• The reporter who wrote the story about the company you want to work for.
• The manager featured in the article about how that company beat profit projections.
• The friend whose friend works in the marketing department of your target company.
• The accountant who works for the CPA firm that handles payroll for the company.
• The purchasing manager who places orders with the company every week.
• The lawyer who knows the lawyer who represents the company.
• The stock broker who knows the analyst who follows the company's performance.
• The engineer who wrote the article about the new technology the company uses.
• The sales rep who answers the phone to help customers in your region.

But, you say you don't know all those people? That's a minor detail. You just don't know all of them yet. You probably know at least one of them, and the rest you can get to know by picking up the phone. Anyone you know about you can also know.

So get to work. Stop saying you don't know anybody, or you'll never land a great job through personal contacts. Which is how most people find jobs.

Sorry, I didn't say it was easy.

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