Networking Skills

How Can Networking Help Your Career?

How can professional relationships help your career advancement?

Professional relationships not only help you get ahead in your current role, but they also improve your chances of getting promoted. If you don’t have strong networking skills, how are you going to be able to connect with new people who can help your career? This is why networking skills are so crucial.

– In this tutorial, we’ll cover tips on how to maintain professional relationships with your coworkers and in the industry at large that will help you get promoted.

Firstly, we’ll talk about networking opportunities. Make friends and associates out of anyone who works near you. Everybody can use an extra friend or two – even if it’s just to grab lunch together once a month.

Networking Is All About Relationships As networking is all about building professional relationships that matter, there are many ways to network effectively:

-Try networking via LinkedIn for example as it allows you to connect not only with colleagues but also people from other industries who could bring something valuable to your life and career.

-If you’re networking in big numbers, be sure to use networking apps such as Meet-up or Event-brite to schedule networking events and increase your level of networking.

Try networking with people who are currently working at competing companies too – you never know how these relationships can help you get a promotion. Just remember: networking works best if it’s mutually beneficial!

– If there isn’t an alternative for networking locally, e.g. via LinkedIn, then putting together small dinner parties is another way to network effectively by providing opportunities for informal networking with your colleagues.

 

Events like the B2B Expo offer great networking opportunities on a larger scale too so make sure that you attend them alongside other networking events and networking activities.

-Workplace networking events are also a great place to network: be sure to introduce yourself to anyone who looks friendly and approachable since getting involved in networking groups is bound to get your name out there.

– Consider joining professional networking groups which can help you establish new professional relationships with other like-minded professionals within your industry.

Being able to connect with others who have similar interests, values and goals is the key for successful networking so make sure that your networking efforts create real value for everyone involved by connecting people together whose lives will improve as a consequence of networking.

– Organizing networking events at work is another chance to meet other colleagues as well as gain visibility from management due to your active role in improving workplace culture. If you do organize networking events, remember to always follow up with everyone after networking events since networking works best when it is based on mutual respect and friendship.

– If you are networking professionally, be sure to send thank you notes as soon as possible following any networking event. Networking relationships are all about building friendships therefore the way you treat networking opportunities is going to have a huge impact on whether your networking efforts pay off or not.

-When attending networking events, be sure to connect personally with people even if they might seem unapproachable at first glance

– this will help you build stronger networking relationships in general and will also ensure that your networking efforts bring more benefits for everybody involved.

For example, consider inviting people who don’t speak your language to networking events in order to help them meet other people better.

– If your networking efforts are not paying off, don’t rush into any decisions regarding how you should be networking – take time and try networking with different types of people until you find out what works best for you!

-When building networking relationships, always concentrate on connecting with like minded individuals who share your values and goals too. It is also important that networking activities do not affect the quality of your work or leave you feeling drained so be sure to network within reasonable limits.

– Make sure that networking solutions fit into your schedule since networking is something that everyone needs to prioritize if they want it to be effective. The more effort you put in, the more results coming out of networking activities so networking has to be a part of your daily routine!

– If networking activities are becoming very time consuming, try to identify the reasons why networking is affecting your schedule so much. Is it simply because networking events take up too much of your precious time or there is something missing in your networking strategy?

Make sure that you analyze networking opportunities with an open mind in order to come up with ways how you can make networking work for you without making it difficult for yourself at the same time.

-Try using networking techniques which don’t require a lot of effort from your side and allow you to network successfully within short periods: e.g. by attending one networking session each week which takes only thirty minutes away from your busy schedule.

– Networking is not a talent – anyone can learn how to build networking relationships with other people and make networking work for them by doing their networking activities at times which are both convenient for them as well as effective for networking purposes.

-If you find yourself in a position of having too little time, try finding ways how networking can benefit your career without harming your efficiency or productivity since poor networking strategies will always harm networkers more than it helps them.

When networking becomes time consuming, the most important thing to do is reevaluate your current networking strategy and think about ways how you can improve it so that networking brings maximum benefits within minimum effort spent on networking.

– Be sure to prioritize professional goals when networking: e.g. use networking opportunities to build networking relationships with networking contacts who can help you achieve networking goals.

Being too busy networking simply because networking is fun and networking events are always enjoyable will not generate any tangible networking benefits for you!

-There is no “right time” to start networking – networking should become part of your life before an opportunity comes along which depends on how well networkers know each other so be sure to make networking a priority from now on in order to be prepared when something good happens.

-The more networking activities you do, the better results you will get out of these activities since it takes time and effort for building positive personal connections which pay off later on.

 

Author

  • eSoft Skills Team

    The eSoft Editorial Team, a blend of experienced professionals, leaders, and academics, specializes in soft skills, leadership, management, and personal and professional development. Committed to delivering thoroughly researched, high-quality, and reliable content, they abide by strict editorial guidelines ensuring accuracy and currency. Each article crafted is not merely informative but serves as a catalyst for growth, empowering individuals and organizations. As enablers, their trusted insights shape the leaders and organizations of tomorrow.

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