Feds- how often should an applicant work his network?

[Anonymous]

My husband is applying for a Fed job that he really wants, and that we really really really need, since he has been severely underemployed since losing his "real" job 2.5 yrs ago. This job is a perfect fit for his experience and skills, he would enjoy it, it has opportunity for growth, etc, etc, etc. He has several contacts at the agency who he talked to about the job posting, and one of whom gave him advice on his application for the job. He got past HR and his application was rated Best Qualified and referred to the hiring manager. Next step is to get selected for an interview.

My question is: should he contact his contacts at the agency again, say thanks for helping, if you know the hiring manager could you please put in a good word for me? Or would that be too much, make him seem like a pest, and annoy the people so that they don't want to help him in the future should this job not pan out?

On the one hand I think he needs to pull out all the stops to get this job, but on the other hand it's far from a sure thing and he doesn't want to burn bridges. These contacts are not close colleagues- one he had some contact with while they both were working at his former employer, one is a colleague of a colleague, etc. So not people he worked directly with in the past.

Thanks for any advice!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husband is applying for a Fed job that he really wants, and that we really really really need, since he has been severely underemployed since losing his "real" job 2.5 yrs ago. This job is a perfect fit for his experience and skills, he would enjoy it, it has opportunity for growth, etc, etc, etc. He has several contacts at the agency who he talked to about the job posting, and one of whom gave him advice on his application for the job. He got past HR and his application was rated Best Qualified and referred to the hiring manager. Next step is to get selected for an interview.

My question is: should he contact his contacts at the agency again, say thanks for helping, if you know the hiring manager could you please put in a good word for me? Or would that be too much, make him seem like a pest, and annoy the people so that they don't want to help him in the future should this job not pan out?

On the one hand I think he needs to pull out all the stops to get this job, but on the other hand it's far from a sure thing and he doesn't want to burn bridges. These contacts are not close colleagues- one he had some contact with while they both were working at his former employer, one is a colleague of a colleague, etc. So not people he worked directly with in the past.

Thanks for any advice!

Absolutely. You don't know when an opportunity like this will come up again. Plus, his contacts will understand that not everything works out every time, and that he might have to come back to the well.