Sometimes, even the all-powerful job seeking tool of networking can lead to dead ends.

While I was still in my Senior year of college, I had attended a number of networking events for advertising professionals, and made numerous connections in different cities. When I moved to one of those cities, I called up to one of the connections who I had stayed in contact with, asking for her help in securing an interview with her company. ”Good luck,” she said. And then she hung up.

I was confused – why would someone who was representing their company at a networking event, who was there for the very purpose of finding people to work for them, not want to help me get an interview? We had kept in contact and been friendly with each other, so it wasn’t a case of personal dislike. So why would someone not want to help?

One of the things that we fail to take into account when asking someone to help us get a job at their company is the feelings that they may have regarding the consequences of this action. Although they may want to help you, it might seem that the opportunity cost of doing so does not outweigh the threat to their own job. After all, there are two possible outcomes for the recommendation:

1. You don’t get the job
2. You get the job

In the case of #1, there is a fear that your not getting the job can reflect badly on the person who recommended you. Their employer might question their judgment and the people they associate with. The last thing you would want to hear from your boss is, “Why did you waste my time with that person?”

But if you get the job (#2), it could be much worse. Besides the fear that your success could overshadow your contact’s, there is also the danger of your performance reflecting back on them at any time. If you turn out to be a poor worker, are caught stealing from the company, become lax in fulfilling your corporate obligations or provide any cause to be fired, the blame could always shift to them, since they referred you to the company in the first place, and how dare they not inform the company that you would turn out like this!

Altruism and support for others can waver, especially when one is questioning their own job security.

However, this fear is often unjustified; if anything, companies reward their employees for helping them to find good candidates quickly, saving both time and the cost of posting an open position on many websites, sorting through applications and so on. If such a situation arises where a connection is unable to follow through on helping you get a job at their company, ask if it’s all right if you name-drop them during a communication to the organization, which mitigates their involvement but still give you a leg up over the competition.

When it comes to networking, your contacts might not always deliver. But don’t look at it as a reflection on you – there’s always a way to work around it.

By the way, I’ve been nominated for Brazen Careerist’s Best Blog Post of 2009! To vote, just put “I’m voting for @canhasjob’s post in the #Brazen Careerist #BestOf 2009 Contest – http://bit.ly/8PeGh” in your Twitter feed. Click here to see the rules, and check out the full list of nominees.