How Kevin Bacon Can Get You A Job
Recently, my husband and I were at a dinner party when someone suggested a trivia game called “Six Degrees of Separation.” The game originated from an offhand remark Kevin Bacon made in an interview years ago that he had been in so many films that he either knew everyone in Hollywood or was no more than 6 degrees of separation from everyone in the industry. It’s evolved over time into a joking kind of reference that everyone in the world is only 6 degrees of separation away from Kevin Bacon. As the night unfolded, we learned that the chef who was catering the dinner party (Chef Matteo www.4coursevegan.com) regularly serves as chef for Kevin Bacon and his family – putting all of us at the table in the “2nd degree” category. I was dreaming of getting my closet-screenplay writing career off the ground! It got me thinking about how this parlor game might apply in our industry. Certainly, websites like LinkedIn, FaceBook, Doostang and Plaxo have all capitalized on the social networking scene. Like me, each of you probably receives dozens of invitations each week to get “linked” or otherwise connect to other people through social networking sites. But, is it really enough to network online? And is networking online really “networking” that can make a difference in your job search?
