You’ve probably heard of the phrase, “it’s not what you know, but who you know”. While this may be partly true the more accurate phrase for describing the networking approach to job search is “who knows you know …” the ending of that sentence describes those skills and abilities employers’ your targeting, want.
Broadcasting to a lot of people what you can do is a component of networking, but don’t be misled into thinking that’s all there is to networking. True networking is making an initial connection with another person, establishing a shared or mutual interest, and maintaining that relationship.
There is a misconception regarding job search networking, that you need to learn some new skills or become something you’re not. When you look back, you can find numerous examples of when you’ve made an initial contact with someone, found common ground and have kept in touch with them; this is networking even though you may not have thought about it this way.