Hermann developed and refined the idea of a “Contacts Roadmap” while heading America’s leading legal career information and outplacement consulting firm. For his clients, it transformed the way they thought about, prepared for, and went about networking. For them, networking went from something distasteful to something they anticipated with enthusiasm. The Roadmap concept can do the same for you.
What Your Contacts Need to Know About You…and Why
You need to provide your networking contacts with enough information to be able to represent you capably to prospective employers or to their own, well-positioned contacts. This means that they need to have two essential documents that you prepare at the beginning of your legal job campaign:
(1) a current copy of your resume(s); and
(2) a Contacts Roadmap.
The Roadmap is, in my strong opinion, an essential job search document that accomplishes three things:
1. It provides detailed information about your background and career aspirations;
2. It energizes and enthuses your contacts; and
3. It eases your anxiety and possible embarrassment about asking for help.