Re:Personal Connections (Score 1)

Talk to your friends, family, people you've worked with, professors, etc.

I'd say either stick to people that have technical backgrounds or be very specific about what you are looking for. Otherwise, you may get too many useless recommendations.

One problem is that you'll get told about jobs that you are not even close to being qualified for. A lot of people don't understand how broad of a field IT is--they will think of you as a "computer person" and the whole field as "computer jobs". So they'll tell you about network administrator positions when you're looking for a developer position. Or if it is a developer position, it'll be for a language you don't know (or maybe haven't even heard of).

Another problem is that they may not be in a position where their recommendation will do you any good. I'm just speculating here, but I just don't see how a recommendation from someone not in an IT field will do any good (especially at a larger company). For example, someone who works retail at a Target store putting in a recommendation for me for an IT position in the corporate office is probably not going to accomplish anything. Though I guess it probably doesn't hurt for them to try.

So while the parent is correct that personal connections are very important, make sure you are going to the right people and giving them the right information.