It's summer, and this already crazy job market is sloooooowing down as employed people (aka hiring teams) take vacations.

You need to maintain your momentum, of course, and continue to apply to the great matches you find on ZenSearch.

But when the weather is lovely and interviews are scarce, it's easy to lose motivation.

What if I told you there's something you can do that will increase your chances of landing a job, spark your creativity, and improve your mood? Would you do it?

What if I told you it's networking?

Ah, networking. One of the most misunderstood and feared concepts. Just the word is enough to strike terror into the hearts of every introvert reading this post. That was me, too.

Maybe you're imagining standing at the edge of a group trying to chime in with something relevant or initiating awkward conversations about the weather. That's networking, but not what I mean.

Networking is having a conversation, learning about the other person, and exchanging ideas. Building a relationship.

Through networking, I've explored how other founders have approached growing a business and shared my experiences and advice with them. I've exchanged tips and promoted useful tools. I've heard suggestions and given feedback. I've heard about open roles and shared open roles with others.

My network has helped me, and I've helped them, leading to fabulous learning, sharing, and even friendships. Giving me something positive to look forward to and making me and (I hope) the other person feel great.

We've all heard about the "hidden job market," supposedly as many as 40% of jobs that are filled by knowing someone, or knowing someone who knows someone...and so on. You don't discover those opportunities by accident—but through networking.

It may be uncomfortable, but luckily it's easy.

Take a look at your connections. Start with people you used to work with, but haven't talked to recently. Reach out with a brief note and a request to set up a chat.

Have a conversation, and see where it goes. Limit complaining and focus on building (or rebuilding) the relationship and exploring how you can help each other. That's right, help goes in both directions.

After you've done a few of those, expand to people you're connected to but don't really "know," referrals from your initial contacts, or, if you're game, total strangers. It sounds scary, but remember, it's just a conversation.

Once you're in a rhythm, keep it going. Challenge yourself to meet with 3 new people a week, or more.

On Monday, I networked with someone whose goal is 6 conversations per week (I was the 2nd). Before talking to her, we'd never met. But after one brief conversation, she's become a valuable member of my network!

Check us out at ZenSearch.jobs, and as you network, share our platform with anyone looking for something new. Together, we can make job searching a little more zen.