Did I go overboard in my job search?

I currently do freelance work and have been making good money with it, but my big job is coming to an end in the next month and I will most likely need to go out and get another job-one that I will actually have to commute to on a daily basis.

There is one guy I used to work with years ago at my old company who now works at a large company in the new city I moved to. What we do is a very niche market and we are lucky to find work. I contacted him last week saying that I would be looking for a job and if there was any work there. He said they are looking to contract someone on in about a month to help with production for up to a year. I lit up when I heard this as it would be the perfect job for me. Yes it's only guaranteed for a year, but it's better than nothing at all.

I exchanged a couple more emails with him getting more details on the job and he was very accommodating telling me to let him know if I have any more questions. 3 days went by and then yesterday I contacted him again through my Linked In connection asking if one of the people who was listed as head of his dept. that he was connected to was his boss, and if he was, if he thought it would be okay for me to introduce myself to him through Linked In and let him know I'd be interested in the upcoming job. He said it couldn't hurt. So I sent an email to his boss introducing myself and telling him to please contact me when the job opens up as I would be a perfect fit for it.

Now I am sitting here wondering if I was being over anxious about things and being overbearing. I want to be pro active in my job search and thought this would be a great way to stick out in his mind. Do you think what I did was too much and his boss may be put off by it?

Not at all, shows intuition.

I don't think you overdid it at all. It shows initiative.

I disagree, you overdid it. Doing that can suggest impatience (which is often a form of immaturity). You did not need to contact the person above your potential hirer, you should never do that on your own. At best they will now try to low ball you because you demonstrated a need for the job.

Originally Posted by Village Genius I disagree, you overdid it. Doing that can suggest impatience (which is often a form of immaturity). You did not need to contact the person above your potential hirer, you should never do that on your own. At best they will now try to low ball you because you demonstrated a need for the job.

I didn't contact anyone ABOVE my potential hirer. I emailed my contact there who works under the guy who would be hiring me. I asked him if it would be okay to go ahead and contact the guy who would be hiring me and he said it couldn't hurt.

How did the job search end?

And to answer your question, no that wasn't overdoing it? Overdoing it would be emailing and calling the boss/your contact. What you did just shows determination, and that's a good thing. Don't stress =)

No, I don't think you overdid it. If anything, a lot of job searchees tend to underdo it and it makes employers think that they're not interested in the job at all. I'd also like to know how the job search ended but based on the lack of updates here, I'm guessing you got the job.

Initiative over overdoing it (sorry we all had to pick right), and besides the fact that the other person had given lead way for you to walk into it, its like that person has already spoken to the boss about you. In the end (as long as you are not stalking him or anything) it shows that you can take a lead, and most people nowadays cant.