My LinkedIn contacts are up from 14 a few days ago to 28 now, more than I would have thought possible. As I get more contacts, trying to find more becomes even more of a stretch -- the last person I invited in is someone I have not heard from in 17 years or so -- but I am finding the process more potentially useful than I imagined. There is a network of ex-Farmers people out there, and many of them are connected to each other, and each one respresents a different company now and his or her own new group of contacts.
In addition, my resume is nearly complete, as I try to match as completely as possible a format provided by the outplacement people. I intend to complete it today and actually contact a potential employer tomorrow.
As for friends, I noted in earlier post that I am an introvert with a fairly small circle of contacts. Still, it has surprised me how much impact other people have already had on my efforts. I have received feedback on my LinkedIn profile, suggestions for connections, invitations to connect, tips on resume writing and job searching, links to job posting sites, the phone number of a hiring manager (yay!), and notes from former colleagues asking how I'm doing and did I really leave Farmers?
I couldn't really get anywhere without some help from friends and colleagues. For someone who recoiled at the word "networking," I am finding out that this is the fun part -- getting in touch and using those personal contacts to expand my own world a bit. Not so great a reflection on me that I'm coming to this revelation when I am unemployed, but that's a lesson learned.
So thanks to everyone who has been kind enough to reach out and help. There's a pretty great group of people out there.
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