This nugget of wisdom was handed down by a Georgetown Alum, who would rather not be mentioned by name. She has worked in different industries, starting off as a banker and ultimately becoming CFO of a company. Aside from having a very impressive career, this mystery woman is also a fabulous mother who has the whole career-work balance down to a tee. She needs a name, so for now, let’s call her CFO Extraordinaire.

I have known CFO Extraordinaire for several years via the Georgetown alumni community, but we recently got to know each other over afternoon coffee. She’s very enthusiastic and I truly enjoyed chatting with her and learning about her interesting and diverse career path. From what I gathered, much of her success can be attributed to a classic case of networking.

Her nugget of networking wisdom was:

You must reach out far and wide and network like crazy.

Several friends have told me they “suck” at networking. I ask those same friends this: Do you suck at interviewing? No, because you can’t afford to! Time to shed those negative thoughts and consider networking a critical component of the job search.

In this economy, it’s difficult to stand out from the piles of resumes/CVs that employers receive. Personal referrals, obtained via networking, are a good way to get you noticed. They’re also a great way to learn about jobs that you normally wouldn’t consider or stumble upon in an on-line job search.

Bottom line: Get out there and network!

The next nugget of wisdom which will give you some ideas on how to network. In the meantime, take a second to answer the poll below and satiate my curiosity on how you got your job.