To find a great job, you’ll need all the classic job-search tools in your kit: a strong resume, a cover letter, an online profile that’s easy to find (on LinkedIn or your personal website), and at least three people who have enthusiastically agreed to serve as references if they’re called by your prospective employers. But you’ll also need something else, something that’s increasingly important in our digital age: personal connections.

Here are three reasons why you should develop your connections so you can leverage them when the time comes to move your career forward.

Connections indicate you’re part of a community.

If you’re connected to your potential employer’s social circle, professional circle, geographic area or past, then you’re a known quantity (even if the person doesn’t actually know you). This implies that you’re reliable, safe and have a strong personal motivation to work hard, do your best, and maintain your existing reputation as a good person. If you’ve appeared out of nowhere and have no context or community that can vouch for you, you bring a larger set of unknowns.

People like to help their friends.

To be clear, the “friend” in this scenario isn’t you; it’s the person standing between you and your employer. She’s calling in or returning a favor to someone else, and the bond between her and that person stand to be strengthened by your decision to ask for help or an introduction. The fact that you exist and need something (or can offer something) can bring two other people closer. Use this to your advantage!

If you have a connection, more info on you may be available.

A resume can only offer so much information about you. But a person making a personal introduction can offer far more. They can provide insight into your specific experiences, your competencies and your personality in ways no profile every really can.

Connections lead to more connections.

When we expand our web of connections, we help ourselves and widen our career opportunities, one strand at a time. This doesn’t just apply to you; it also applies to the boss who might hire you based on your shared personal contacts. A wise boss will apply this logic to their hiring decision and choose the candidate that can best help the person and the company advance.

For more on how to build up your network and make the best possible use of the connections you already have, turn to the career management team at Merritt!

Job applicants typically work hard to stay efficient with their time and energy. If you’re searching for work, you’re likely to choose actions and options that shorten the path to your goals and help you cover more ground using less fuel. And as you do so, you’re likely to find yourself asking a common question as you toil over every word of your cover letter: “Will anyone actually read this?”

To find an answer, we’ve turned to countless employers, including our clients, partners and professional contacts across multiple industries. Unsurprisingly, their answers differ. But most reposes fall into three distinct categories. The next time you ask yourself if your cover letter is worth the effort, consider your audience and try to determine which category they fall into.

Yes, we read (almost) every single letter.

Employers are likely to read letters carefully if they manage smaller firms, new startups, family-owned businesses, and tightly controlled companies (where the CEO or department head may be the one reading the resumes and making hiring decisions). With employers like these, don’t take a chance with your cover letter. That means no errors, poor wording or missed opportunities. Your strong cover letter may help you edge out a small pool of very tough competition, and it’s not uncommon to land an interview based on one passing remark or a throwaway statement you added to your letter at the last minute before sending. At some point down the road, these employers may let you know what aspect of your letter won them over.

We ask for them, but we don’t read them all.

Some employers request cover letters because they’re useful tiebreakers when the candidate pool has been narrowed to a small handful of excellent prospects. By the time the winner’s circle has been drawn, the front-runner with a brilliant, detailed letter will certainly win the interview over the one with a poorly written letter or a solitary resume. But most candidates won’t make it that far. If scanners don’t pick up the right resume keywords, your resume and letter may stagnate unread in a database somewhere.

Letters are our first (sometimes only) deciding factor.

Some employers don’t ask for cover letters … but some take cover letters only. These reviewers aren’t even interested in a resume; they just want you to tell them, point blank and in your own words, why you should have the job. If the job post makes it clear that your letter is important, don’t skip a single detail or cut a single corner. Your letter is your stage. Grab the spotlight and make the most of it.

For more on job search decisions that can help you find the fastest path to success, turn to the career experts at Merritt.