I have to address a pet peeve I have in regards to networking.

Far too many job seekers don't know how to ask for help from their existing contacts. They ask the worst favor request ever:

“Keep me in mind if you hear anything, okay?”

Awful! Awful! Awful! This question is far to generic (“...anything”) to elicit action or response. It actually encourages the one asked to be passive (“...if you hear anything”). Heck – the one asking isn't even requesting to be the only one (“Keep me in mind...”)!

What a horrible question and what a horrible way to ask it!

It's far better to ask targeted questions of your networking contacts. Ask who they know in your field. Ask if they can help connect you. Ask if they can provide specific information or assistance.

Getting specific buy in will provide far better results than the generic, passive and non-exclusive question above.