As you probably know already, 70% of ex-military officers get their first job through networking.

Networking is all about developing long term relationships for mutual gain.

When you're job hunting it can be an all consuming activity and you may be entirely focussed on getting that job.  However, when networking you need to think about developing a long term relationship with your contacts so that your name springs to mind whenever they hear of an opportunity which might suit you.  You therefore need to do more than just have one meeting and hope that something good comes out of it. Once you have got in touch with someone to seek guidance on your job search, they may start looking out for contacts or opportunities for you. You need to keep in touch and let them know how you are getting on. A brief call or email from time to time just to say "I'm following up a number of leads" or "I have a couple of interviews coming up" or "I'm in town, do you want to meet up for a coffee/drink?" is quite sufficient. And, most importantly, when you do get a job, let all your contacts and people who have helped you (that includes OA Scotland!) know and thank them for their support during your job hunt. You are now part of their networks so don't neglect your contacts the minute you are in a job. You may be able to return the help that you have been given during your job search and you don't know when you may need help again.

When discussing resettlement with one of our OA Scotland contacts recently (an officer who had been through resettlement himself a few years ago), he had the following insights to offer. What you need when leaving the military and looking for a job is patience and luck. As to the luck, he felt that service leavers could create some of their own luck by their networking activities, keeping in touch with their contacts and nurturing their networks. It has certainly worked in his case.

Last year, Heather White, CEO and Founder of Smarter Networking, ran a networking seminar for OA Scotland clients.  If you want some hints and tips on developing your networks have a look at Heather's website www.smarter-networking.com or read her book "Networking for Business Success".