Building up a network of friends and acquaintances (as I recommend you do), isn't of any use if you can't remember who it is you met from such-and-such magazine at that media event, now that you want to apply for a job at said magazine.
To keep track of who you know, put together a networking binder – essentially an address book with footnotes. In addition to name, phone number, email and address, also write down where you met each person, what his or her affiliations are, plus other tidbits of info that may come in handy, like shared interests. For example, if you noted that the editor you met not only works at that magazine but that you shared a conversation about iPhone apps, start off an email to her with a recommendation for a great new iPhone game you just found, then launch into your request of what she knows about the job opening. This idea comes from stationery retailer Russell + Hazel, which recommends using a mini binder, though if you do have that iPhone, you could easily just add comments in the notes field of each contact entry (and add a photo of the person, too, if you're not so great at linking faces to names).
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