Everyone knows a few important people who they believe will at some point be helpful to us in our search for that perfect job. The problem how to keep your name in front of them so when that perfect job comes to their attention you will be top of mind.

You certainly don’t want to waste their time and you certainly don’t want to be annoying. A frequent question asked is how often you should float your resume in front of specific recruiters. The most common answer I have heard is about every 3 months.

As a benchmark, 3 months is probably about right for those you know, although depending on who it is and how well you really know them, 2 months might be okay too.

As you think about these particular individuals you need to consider their needs and how you can best be seen as a source of help and not as a constant reminder that you still haven’t found a job.

Although I have heard suggestions of sending such things as interesting articles, my belief system suggests a slightly different approach.

I am a people person and I believe that people enjoy meeting interesting people who might be able to solve some problem they have. Now, where can you find such folks? I’ll give you one guess – The FENG.

Although there are other places to look, there is no more readily available source of highly talented individuals than our little circle of friends. Think about your friends with whom you wish to stay connected and think about the valuable talent pool you have at your fingertips.

Sure, it is one of those “taking in each other’s laundry” types of approaches, but it serves your purposes as well. Consider this, if you give me a name to contact, right there in the first paragraph it is going to say “Matt Bud” (if I was the source) suggested contacting you.

There it is, your name right there at the top. Imagine, a gift with your name on it. Honestly, life doesn’t get much better.

So, here is the suggested approach. Make a list of your most important friends and their needs. Now, as you are out and about meeting people at our networking meetings or by telephone or by email, keep your friends in mind. Hey, you want them to keep you in mind, so a little turnabout is fair play.

The truth is that if you don’t “use” your friends in this way, they really aren’t thinking about you. They can’t be. They have too much to do day in and day out to always be thinking of you.

A little reminder of your existence now and then can’t hurt.

Regards, Matt