Interviewing is fundamentally an exercise in risk management. As a job seeker, your goal is to reduce any appearance of risk in hiring you.

Once they're in the workforce, many people go through life wondering.

Wondering if they are in the right job.

Wondering if they have some hidden talent or secret superpower that would burst forth if only the environment were right.

Wondering if someone with a better knowledge of career paths and the job market could help them discover their latent talent and suggest a perfect job for them.

Wouldn't that be awesome?

Very few people know how to grab the attention of a busy person. As a recruiter, I get dozens of emails a week from job seekers, and daily requests to connect on LinkedIn. 99% of my LinkedIn inbox requests are the standard invitation, “I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.”

When you are looking for a new job, you need to network with connected people. But busy, well-connected people have only small slices of time available. Even when people really wants to help you, they are probably hoping to do it in five or 10 minutes.

For most people, job hunting is uncomfortable, unfamiliar, and haphazard. It's really common for people to accept a mediocre job offer simply because they couldn't bear the thought of one more day of job hunting.

Fast Company ran an article titled “Do You Hire for IQ or Klout Score?” The article argues that your social connectivity may be more important to your future career success than your intelligence. It’s a perspective you cannot ignore on your way to building a great career.

One of the biggest sources of job seeker frustration is sending resumes out and then hearing nothing back. It feels pointless and futile — because for most people, it is pointless and futile. If you don’t have the kinds of skills that employers are desperate to hire, then your resume will not be much help to you, and your job search might take a while.

Networking is likely the route to your next job... It's more personal than applying on a stark job board, and it may help you find out about opportunities that aren't openly advertised.

Whether you are a job seeker or just starting a new  job, you can’t ignore the rules of building and maintaining relationships. The ability to establish good relationships is essential for building a successful career. Martin Zwilling, blogging for Forbes.com, dips into Jan Yager’s latest book “Productive Relationships: 57 Strategies for Building Stronger Business Connections,” and offers these top tips for building good relationships: