When a friend can help but won't?

I am new to my career. I had to change careers due to the phasing out of the industry in which I specialized. I went to school, received training and am working in my new field now in a minimally compensated capacity. Through my work, I met a kind, older person who has been offering advice. He has been most complimentary about my skills and has spoken to others praising my talents. He is a major partner in a firm in my field. He has not offered to speak to or present my resume to anyone at his company. Do you think that I should say nothing to him about it? Part of me wants to ask if he would help me find work in his firm, but another part of me thinks that if he wanted to help me within his firm he would offer. I don’t want to create discomfort, but I really could use a decent salary and the opportunity. My one friend, a recruiter in another field said that I need to be more aggressive and ask for help, but I am not certain…