It is an old story. A chain is only as strong as the weakest link.
As you may know, I have been job hunting. I had a recruiter that contacted me via LinkedIn regarding a job that we both agreed was perfect for me. She told me that she would contact the hiring manager, and was hoping to set up an interview the next week. The next week came and went, and I heard nothing from the recruiter.
I sent an email. No response. This got me thinking – the individual who was supposedly advocating for me was not an employee of the company that had the job opening. She was a contractor. Which meant that if she actually filled the position with an awesome candidate (AKA me) she would earn more money. Because she works on commission.
Sometimes you have to take control of your own destiny. One of the positive things about working in marketing/ digital is that one changes jobs often. The more I changed jobs, the more people I met. The more people I interacted with, the more my network grew.
The important thing about a network, as I see it, is knowing when to “call in the troops.” When the whole thing with the recruiter happened, combined with a number of other companies expressing interest in me then falling away into the ether, I knew it was time to reach out to my network. Know your network and know what they can help you with. Don’t bother your old fraternity buddy from college with some random question that you can just Google.
So, how is your network? Do you have one? Tell me about it in the comments below.
Gayle Seletsky Greene 
I work in an industry that, when it comes down to it, is extremely small and incestuous. You never know who you’ll bump into at a competing company or client who you worked alongside 5 years ago. As a result, it’s of the utmost importance to maintain those connections (and not burn bridges) in order to keep your reputation — and your options — intact.