How to Write a Job Search Brief Your Network Can Actually Use

To tell your network what job you want, send a short search brief that names the work you want to do, the level you can support with experience, where you can work, and one specific way a contact could help. Include two examples of relevant work so they can recognize a match without interpreting your entire resume.

A job search brief is a reusable reference for trusted people who have offered to keep an eye out. You might give the same core brief to a former colleague and a friend in your industry, then change the request for each person. The one-page format below is our suggested worksheet, not a standard employers require.

If someone has already offered an introduction to a named person, use a forwardable introduction email for that handoff. The brief helps earlier, when your contact is still asking, "What should I be looking for?"

Replace "open to anything" with a recognizable kind of work

You can be flexible without asking someone else to work out your search direction. Start with the responsibilities you want to own. Add job titles as examples, since a title alone may leave the work unclear.

Here is a fictional before-and-after example:

Before: I'm open to anything in tech. Let me know if you hear of something.

After: I'm looking for an individual-contributor role helping business customers get new software running. I'd like to own onboarding plans, coordinate setup with technical teams, and train customer admins. Implementation specialist and customer onboarding specialist are example titles I'm exploring.

That description also makes it easier to rule out an apparent match. A role focused entirely on answering a support queue may use similar customer-facing language but offer little implementation ownership. Tell your helper which responsibility matters, rather than listing every title you would consider.

If you are choosing between unrelated directions, prepare a separate brief for each and send the relevant one. A former finance colleague should not have to infer whether you are asking about accounting or software implementation.

A completed one-page job search brief

This fictional example uses invented experience to demonstrate the format. Replace the details with your own evidence; do not borrow its accomplishments.

Job search brief: Maya Chen
Updated: November 8, 2026

Target work
Help business customers launch software: onboarding plans, setup coordination, and customer training.

Level and example titles
Individual contributor. Implementation specialist or customer onboarding specialist. Not targeting people-management roles.

Where and how I can work
Based in Philadelphia. Open to local hybrid roles or US remote roles that can employ someone in Pennsylvania. Occasional planned travel is workable; weekly travel is not.

Relevant evidence
- Coordinated customer onboarding handoffs between support and the implementation team, including tracking unresolved setup questions.
- Wrote an admin setup guide and led walkthroughs for customers using our scheduling product.

Examples to help recognize a match
A role owning a small customer's onboarding plan could fit. A role requiring independent API integration development would exceed my current technical experience.

Preferences and constraints
Prefer business software. Full-time employee roles only. Available to start after an agreed notice period. No relocation in this search.

One way to help
If you notice a role involving customer onboarding ownership, please send me the posting. I'll check the requirements and handle the application.

Sharing
Please check with me before forwarding this brief or making an introduction.

Contact
[Email] | [LinkedIn or relevant portfolio]

The contrast between a possible fit and a poor fit gives the helper a decision they can actually make. It does not ask them to certify that Maya qualifies. She still needs to read each posting, verify the location arrangement, and assess its requirements.

Fill in your own brief

Aim for a page someone can scan in an email or a simple document. These fields are prompts, so omit one if it adds nothing to your search.

Name and date updated:
Target responsibilities:
Level I am seeking:
Two or three example job titles:
Location and workable work arrangements:
Relevant example of my work:
Second relevant example:
An example of a suitable opportunity:
A similar-looking opportunity that would not fit:
Firm constraints:
Preferences I can be flexible about:
One action this contact could take:
Permission or limits on sharing:
Contact and one useful supporting link:

Use a responsibility or artifact to substantiate each proof point. "Strong communicator" does not show a helper what you have done. "Created the setup guide our support team used in customer walkthroughs" supplies something concrete, if it is true. See how to describe your work when you have no metrics for examples that do not require fabricated numbers.

Separate firm limits from preferences. "Remote preferred; Philadelphia hybrid considered" means something different from "remote only." Include a compensation boundary if you want that person to use it when filtering leads; leave private negotiation details out of material you may later authorize them to forward.

Send a personal request with the brief

Harvard's guide to making connections recommends having an idea of what you are seeking in your career exploration or job search. The brief puts that preparation into a form you can share. Choose a request that fits what this particular person knows.

For example, ask a former implementation teammate whether your target responsibilities are clear. Ask a friend who follows employers in your region to pass along relevant postings. Save a referral request for a specific opportunity and a person who can reasonably consider recommending you.

Subject: The customer onboarding roles I'm looking for

Hi Jordan,

Thanks for offering to keep an eye out. I'm focusing on individual-contributor customer onboarding roles where I can own a launch plan and train customer admins. I've pasted a short brief below with the work I'm targeting and my location limits.

If a relevant posting crosses your path, would you send me the link? I'll read it and handle the next step. Please check with me before forwarding my details or making an introduction.

I appreciate your help,
Maya

[Paste brief]

Use the email body if that makes the brief easy to read. If you share a document link, test its permissions and avoid exposing private job-search notes in the same file. A resume can be available on request; the brief should already contain enough context to understand your direction.

Test the brief against real opportunities

Before distributing it, compare your description with two actual postings you would consider. Can you explain why each fits using the brief's responsibilities and constraints? If both require a capability your evidence does not support, adjust the target or explain what additional preparation you need.

Then test a near miss. In Maya's example, a support role with onboarding mentioned once may still be mostly ticket handling. If the brief would cause a helper to send that role, make the desired ownership clearer. You can use your target company list to collect relevant examples without including your whole private research file.

Respond to leads and revise only what changed

Thank the contact when they send something. For a poor fit, explain the useful distinction without making them feel responsible for screening perfectly:

Thanks for thinking of me. This one is mostly ongoing support coverage, and I'm focusing on roles that own the onboarding plan. The customer training part is close to what I mean, though, so that was helpful context.

If several people misunderstand the same field, rewrite that field. When your location, availability, or target work changes, date the revised brief and send a short correction to contacts actively helping. Ask them to use the new version. Avoid sending repeated reminders that simply restate that you are searching.

When a lead becomes a specific introduction, prepare fresh material for that recipient and confirm what your contact may share. Alongside those warm leads, Personal Reach can help you find relevant jobs and contacts and prepare role-specific email drafts to review and edit. Create a Personal Reach account when you are ready to turn a clear target into direct employer outreach.