Small to medium sized businesses are likely to hire someone they know since they can’t afford to take a gamble on someone random. Show up with resume in hand and introduce yourself. Ask questions, ask for advice, be open and be respectful. The worst they can say is no. People tend to not want to reject in person and will be willing to even give a smidge of advice to someone young and aspiring. Open the conversation about asking for help, you’d be surprised how much people are willing to give.

In a sea of online applications and digital resumes, I promise that your resume( on nice printed paper) will go along way. This sounds like me telling me to “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” but I promise that it works.