Using these networks requires that individuals locate and approach the relevant stakeholders in the labour market. However, few people use these informal networks despite the greater opportunities and lower rate of competition. Using an informal network may be as simple as meeting with peers to discuss opportunities in town or conducting interviews with employers to seek out a position (filling a niche) in a firm that has not advertised a job. Many firms today do not advertise available positions due to the nature of the job market, which would flood their human resources departments with resumes.

The "upper end" of informal networks ranges from contacts established through work in voluntary associations and cooperative education programs to exchanges of information made through membership in or exposure to professional environments and occupation related associations. The difficulty that many people encounter is that of access to the "productive" connections -- those leading to "good jobs" -- leaving individuals to conduct their job search in "unproductive" isolation.