谈到亲戚，格尼指出，很多求职者忽视了家庭人和密友的职业圈子。他说：“就算你非常了解某个人的个人情况，也不见得一定很清楚他们的职业人脉。”将他们纳入你搜索信息的范围，可能会有意外的惊喜。

    4. 狭隘地限定自己的才能和兴趣。比方说，即使你一直都是在做人事经理，也不意味着下份工作就一定得是人力资源管理。“如果和别人谈的时候，对自己接下来真正想做的事情缺乏发自内心的激情，无疑是个错误，”格尼指出。“很多情况下，求职者没有给自己机会，让自己去追寻真正想要的东西。”

    他说，工作的最初几年只是“在为后半生的职业做调研。不用将一生都耗在同一件事情上。完全可以根据已经学到的东西，作出明确的规划，充分利用这些东西”——可以是在相关领域，也可以是让你的技能和经验能够创造更多价值的职位。

    第六个错误，你在提问中也提到了：犹豫是否要联系有段时日没有见面或通话的人。有这种疑惑的大有人在。高管培训公司Keystone Associates的高级副总裁杰恩•麦特森说，很多向她咨询的求职者也流露出同样的情绪，他们经常会这样说：“每个人都很忙。我一向靠自己，我不喜欢麻烦别人。”但她指出：“你现在的任务是找到一份新的工作。你凭什么认为光靠自己可以成功？”

    麦特森帮助客户克服这个障碍的方式是反问他们：“如果你认识的什么人给你打电话，咨询找工作的相关信息和窍门，你会帮他们吗？”麦特森说。“回答当然是肯定的。那么，你们凭什么就断定你们自己认识的人不愿意帮忙？好好想想吧。”

反馈：如果你曾利用人脉找到了一份新工作，什么方式给你的帮助最大？那种方式最不管用？请在下面留言评论。

    And speaking of relatives, Gurney points out that many job seekers overlook their own family members' and close friends' professional networks. "If you know someone very well on a personal level, you may not be aware of how many business connections they have," he says. Include them in your information-gathering efforts, and you could be pleasantly surprised.

    4. Defining your talents and interests too narrowly. Just because you've always been, say, a human resources manager doesn't mean your next job will necessarily be in human resources management. "It's a mistake to be out there talking with people without authentic passion about what you'd really like to do next," Gurney notes. "Too often, job hunters don't give themselves permission to go after what they really want."

    The early years of a career, he adds, are "just R&D for the second half. You don't have to stick with one thing all your life. You can take what you've learned so far and make a purposeful plan for applying it" -- either in a related field or in some other kind of role where your skills and experience could be even more valuable.

    A sixth mistake, which you mention in your question: Hesitating to get in touch with people you haven't seen or spoken with in a while. You're far from alone in this. Jayne Mattson, a senior vice president at executive coaching firm Keystone Associates, says she encounters the same reluctance in many of the job seekers she counsels, who often say things like, "'Everyone's so busy, I've always done things on my own, I hate to bother people,'" she notes. "But your job now is to find a job. Why would you think you could succeed at any new job all on your own?"

    Mattson gets her clients past this hurdle by asking them, "If someone you know called to ask for information or guidance related to their job hunt, would you give it to them?" Says Mattson, "Of course the answer is yes. So why would you assume someone you know would not want to help you? Think about it."

Talkback: If you've found a new job by tapping your network, what approach helped you the most? What have you found is least effective? Leave a comment below.