First, let’s accept a little fact about people: They lie. All the time. So, when Mr. Smith is offering to forward your resume to his contacts, he might be sincere and really mean it. Or, he might have a problem with saying no, might be afraid to disappoint you, so he offers to help, even though he has no intention of doing so. Or, Mr. Smith may have had the best of intentions, but he got slammed with a project at work, or his HR contact was just laid off and he’s trying to figure out how to best help you. Here’s another scenario: Secretly, Mr. Smith doesn’t know if you have the chops to make it at his company, and he’s wondering if his credibility is going to be shot if he recommends you for a job or not.

Let’s face it: We can second-guess someone’s intentions, but we’ve got better things to do with our time. When someone offers help, accept it graciously, and follow up periodically. And, if nothing comes of it, comfort yourself with the thought that there are many, many fish in the sea. If some of those fish aren’t able to honor their commitments, well, now you’ve gained a little more information about them, and you’ll be that much savvier the next time they offer ‘help.’ In the meantime, your ongoing networking and relationship building efforts will ensure that even if a few of the fish fall through the cracks (or net), it’s no big deal, because you’ve got other opportunities ahead.