“Knowledge does not become power until it is used.”

That’s according to author, speaker, and master of business, Harvey Mackay.

First, watch below as Harvey tells “The Story of the Meticulous Spender” …

Then, ask yourself: Are you making the same mistake in your job search?

In other words, have you failed to add up and make use of the power that lies hidden in your network?

Fact: The average person knows about 250 people on a first-name basis. How can you keep in touch with these people creatively, so they remember you with favor, look forward to hearing from you, and assist in your job hunt?

Here’s a crazy idea: Call them.

Call everyone in your network to ask how they’re doing, ask what they need help with in their job, and let them know what job you’re looking for.

That would be creative. After all, everyone emails or texts everyone else these days. More people use their phones for texting and gaming than talking.

Oh, wait. You know 250 people. You can’t make 250 phone calls, right?

Wrong.

Break it down. Divide 250 by a manageable number of calls per day. Say, 5. The result is 50.

Can you call 5 people a day for the next 50 days? Of course. In less than 2 months, you would make personal, creative contact with everyone who mattered in your network.

Do you think you might get hired faster if 250 pairs of eyes and ears were scouting for job leads on your behalf? Of course.

Is this more work than sending emails? Of course.

If you want to take the easy way out and do what everyone else is doing, be my guest. But everyone else is taking 33 weeks to find a job, on average, according to April 2010 data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Thirty-three weeks are 231 days. In that same time period, you can call everyone in your network FOUR TIMES.

As long as you network the RIGHT way, which is offering to help others while expecting nothing in return, you’ll succeed at this. The key element in successful networking is this: You get by giving.

You first give others your expertise, knowledge, contacts, ideas, or just plain attention. Expect nothing in return (otherwise, it comes through loud and clear, like a political candidate who shakes your hand expecting your vote in return).

When you give thoughtfully of your time and attention to others, success is the only option, really.

Because, in a world where the average person takes 231 days to find a job by relying on email and other sterile methods, you can’t help but get hired faster if you reach out to 250 people and touch them personally with a warm phone call.

That’s how you can really use your head to get your foot in the door, as Harvey suggests in his excellent book.