There are many components to a successful job search. And all of these components are important to the process. For, without them, the already difficult task of finding a job becomes much more difficult.

But, if I had to choose just one component, and if I was forced to identify this one component as “most important” – my choice would be a simple one to make.

Networking! Networking is the single most important part of a job search.

And what, exactly, is networking? It’s just talking and communicating and reaching out to people. Networking is simple. You simply tell people that you’re looking for a job – a lot of people – just about anyone you can think of.

I’m already a 100% believer in networking. But if I needed any further encouragement, I found it at a sporting goods store on November 14th of this year. True story! I’m standing in line behind several hunters (I live in Michigan, our firearm’s deer season starts on November 15th, and my 15 year old is an avid hunter) and I hear one of them talking to his hunting buddy about how difficult and long his job search has been. He talked about his discipline (a telecommunications solution provider), and about how frustrating it had been to be out of work for over 3 months. True story! The guy behind them in line has also been listening, and after a few minutes he interrupts their conversation and starts asking the job seeker questions about his background and his experience. Long story short – he listens for a bit, and then introduces himself, tells the fellow that he has been looking for someone like him for quite a while, and invites him to his office the following week for a job interview.

Now, I can’t say how the rest of this story played out. I don’t know how the interview went. I don’t even know for sure that the interview took place. But I do know this. Without the networking that occurred in that line – nothing would have happened to help this guy’s job search. With the networking – he was invited in for an interview for a job he seemed qualified for. And I also know this. If you don’t interview for a job, you don’t get the job. It’s that simple.