Conventional wisdom holds that your only options for a job lie along the traditional channels:

1.     Sending your resume in response to job ads

2.     Subscribing to job search engines and applying through openings there

3.     Going to websites of organizations/companies you would like to work for and seeing what they have open, etc.

In the above-mentioned cases, the process of sending out a lot of resumes usually takes excessive time and effort. There are shortcuts around this through networking. One part of this is just to keep your eyes and ears open.      

Most of my jobs, for example, have come in unconventional ways. When I needed to find an internship in transportation for which I went to grad school, I saw a notice for a town meeting where the possibility of an interstate highway extension was being discussed. I went to the meeting and as I would expect, I found representatives of every major planning firm in the area there. I handed my resume to all of them and landed a couple interviews and got some tips through there.

Going to conventions, lectures, or conferences where people in your desired industry with a few copies of your resumes are great ways to shortcut the process and make connections. The benefits are too numerous to list. You will learn about your field and even better, you will come off as someone who's willing to learn. It will get you out and in contact with people, which is healthy for an unemployed job searcher. Timing is important in these situations. If it's a lecture, wait until the reception, to start talking to people. Go up to people and start a conversation about the lecture and show that you are a thoughtful and knowledgeable person before inquiring who the other person is and asking if his company is hiring. If these people don't have job openings, all is not lost. These people can offer valuable advice as to who might be hiring, what you should do if you're looking, what skill sets might be in vogue, and what working in the industry is like and they will often be glad to help once you take the initiative. They're not human resources people, so usually they'll be less weary about hearing of job applicants all day.

One can find helpful people pretty much anywhere they look, however. You might be seated on an airplane, next to an important person in your industry, for example. The key is simply to capitalize on that situation when you do come across that person. Have a business card or resume handy and failing that, be sure to get their contact number.

-Orrin Konheim is the online content manager for uboast.