Networking and Informational Interviews are your first step to getting a job, and one of your main steps to long-term professional growth and success. So try to not screw them up too badly.

Networking

Networking is all about who you know, and you know more people than you think.

Business school also offers tons of opportunites to network -- there are corporate events all the time and recruiters are always coming on campus.

If you and your friends have similar interests, you might want to think about setting up a group visit -- either to the target's company, or, perhaps, inviting the target to dinner.

When networking, keep the right general approach. Other useful techniques include:

• The Deep Bump
• How to ask questions that engage
• Tricks
• How to meet somebody famous
• Pinging

Never hesitate to ask for a referral. Ask for referrals to:

• Executives at companies you're interested in
• People who have the kind of job your interested in
• People who supervise the people who have the job you're interested in
• And so forth

Use your contacts to contact more interesting, relevant people. Never lose a contact -- in fact, you need to be active and manage your contacts, but never hesitate to leverage an existing contact to make a new one.