Have you ever heard that 80% of jobs available are never advertised? The best place to hear about jobs is from friends, and friends of friends, etc... Word of mouth is a powerful tool, and employers often rely on it to get their positions filled. Using this to your advantage is commonly referred to as networking. It sounds a little lofty, and can be a bit daunting, but it's really one of the simplest things you can do to really get your job search going.

A survey conducted by CareerXRoads.com found that 28% of external hires in 2007 could be attributed to referrals. Compared to the second largest source of external hires, job boards at only 25%, this is a pretty important statistic. That's a lot of people telling their friends, and their friends, and so on and so on about a great position. That's the most basic form of networking, and it works.

But you're also networking when you go to a job fair and meet with employers, or other job seekers; when you visit with family members or friends or attend a social event; during random conversations at the doctor's office with other patients waiting in the waiting room; at church, work, etc... Effective networking comes down to making the most out of every conversation you encounter on a day to day basis.

So how do you make sure you're networking effectively?

Well, start by not being afraid to ask. If your friends don't know you're looking, they won't know to tell you about that great position that just opened up in their office. Be proactive and bring it up over coffee. Call an old friend for lunch and ask them if they've heard anything.

If you're out at your kid's ball game, strike up a conversation with the other parents, especially if the game goes into overtime. A fifteen minute conversation about how great the team's playing this year can turn into another conversation about jobs that they might know about in just about as much time.

If you're on MySpace, LinkedIn, Facebook or another social networking Web site, post bulletins or join groups. Online networking is one of the easiest ways to follow word of mouth. Large communities of your friends, and their friends, all talking about their lives, their jobs and jobs they've heard about, and all you have to do is turn on the computer. Not only that, but a lot of organizations have joined the bandwagon and have their own profiles and groups on social networking Web sites. What's great about online networking is you get to choose how involved you want to be: nobody can see that you're nervous, and they're not going to judge you if you're just being a wall flower. (But obviously, the more involved you are, the better the chance is that you'll be noticed.) Check out HiredIn for a great social network for job seekers.

If you're naturally a nervous person, calm down. There are a few things you can do to help make networking less mind-rattling. If you're attending a job fair or other public event, go with a friend. Sometimes having a co-pilot can help calm your nerves a bit. If you're shy around crowds, show up early. Not only will you look more aggressive to the hiring employers and other networkers, but you'll avoid the crowds and feel more at ease. Give yourself some goals to work towards. For example, say you're going to talk to someone new every day that could possibly lead to a great networking experience, and stick to it. If you talk to someone new every day for two weeks, that's 14 possible opportunities to learn about a new job.

Just remember that networking is as simple as saying hi! Who have you said hello to today?