You must live in a vacuum if you have not fully embraced about the importance and necessity of networking - whether you are actively seeking a job, moving your way up the ladder or just looking to expand your pool of contacts, networking activities should be a vital part of your career master plan.
Too often, professionals make the mistake of bringing a "whats-in-it-for-me" attitude to networking events and activities. If they don't see the beneficial results of the event within a couple weeks, they dismiss the event and throw out any business cards.
I can speak from personal experience that I am still benefitting today from professional and person contacts that I made several years ago and that I took the time to nurture and grow.
From volunteering to speak at a conference, taking the time to give career fair participants resume feedback or committing several hours a month to teach a class to transitioning military - simple favors that did not take a lot from me, have come back to me in the form of new business contracts, speaking engagements and referral clients.
So how can you pay it forward with your networking activities? Remember that networking is also about relationship building - take the time to really genuinely understand what someone in your network is looking for and make every effort to be a source of support and information:
- it could be an inside scoop new job
- a person referral
- some advice
- a critical piece of information
- a "must-read" book
- the name of an expert who can take them to the next level
- a recommendation on LinkedIn
A little effort on your part can go a long way with someone else in need!
Related posts:
Networking for job search and career management
