Networking Your Way to Job Search Success

Are you one of those people that simply shy away from using their professional network, because they think it’s all about asking people for a job opening? First and foremost networking is not all about calling your contacts and asking for a job. Networking is about meeting new contacts, building relationships and taking sincere interests in contacts. As you keep building credibility on the professional network, job information will follow itself. Besides, there are many ways of getting job information without annoying people. In fact using a professional network for job search success is a game. And if you are looking for benefits, you have to follow the rules of the game.

People on your professional network may not want you consume much of their valuable time. And you are not supposed to take up their valuable time either. While you keep taking sincere interest in your network, you can ask a contact to have a 10-minute meeting with you. Now, do not take up half an hour in the meeting. It will only irritate them and scare them away.

While networking with people, you should never underestimate the value that each single contact has on your professional network. Each new contact you make friends with may know another 400 or 500 people helping you to expand your network even more. So try to understand the value of each person you have already networked with.

Nothing comes for free. To receive something, you need to give too. So, networking is also kind of a give-and-take relationship. You need to devote some time on networking on a regular basis. You may come across a great job and career article while surfing on the internet. It is a good idea to share the article with your contacts. Do not forget to add a brief note to add to it a personal touch and make your contacts remember you. When one of your contacts sends or recommends you an article or a useful link, do remember to thank them by sending a brief thank you note.

Patience is always the key to successful networking. So, have patience while making contacts. Nothing should discourage you. Just persist until you start getting results or benefits from the professional networking. It is not a one-time process; you need to continue expanding your network and building credibility on the network.

You need to accept the fact that professional networking can really help you through the job hunting process. You can get useful job information via the network. You can also keep up to date with the changing trends in the job and employment industry. In addition, you can also establish long-term relationships with your contacts if you continue to be sincere and believe in the give-and-take phenomenon. Make networking a habit and you will soon see yourself availing the career and job opportunities it is expected to bring you.

Beginner’s Guide to Networking

Hardly do many people are aware that only less than 40% job positions are advertised. The majority of job positions are occupied through networking. What is even more interesting is the fact that almost all of us are involved in networking in our daily lives, in some way or the other. Whether it is a hairstylist, a cosmetologist or a restaurant owner, networking continues in our lives, regardless of our realizing it or not realizing it. So, what does networking actually means? Well, networking simply means passing on information. As you can see, we continue to network in our personal lives. In a similar manner, we can use networking as a wonderful tool for making contacts with professionals in an industry and enhance our chances of landing jobs.

Why Network?
Most of us believe that networking means ‘asking people for a job’. Not at all. Making contacts with professional people does not mean you have to go to people and ask them whether they can offer you a job. All that you need to do is make some honest efforts, spend some time with your contacts sincerely and the job information will travel to you on its own. All networking requires is that you should build credibility and people will be eager to provide you job information and recommend you job positions available.

Through successful networking, you can also learn a lot many things about a career of your interest. You can find out about a particular job and the responsibilities involved by contacting with people who are already into that job. You can discover the mantra behind people’s career success. All these things, knowledge and skills are certainly going to help you immensely in your job hunt.

Where Do I Begin?
As a beginner, you may be a little anxious about where and how to start networking, how to contact more and more professionals and expand your network. Given below are a few steps that you should follow. Have a look.

Prepare a list of all those professional people you know
Identify opportunities and network platforms
Make a plan of action
Know your role, stuff and networking guidelines
Customize your communication to the requirement
Get organized
And just be yourself!

Who Should I Contact?
Well, there are a number of sources that you can use to help you. You can network with professionals you know. You can contact human resource departments and gather job information and career advice. You can also have a chat with influential people and professionals on web forums. You can meet your contacts in person, telephone them or contact them on popular networking sites including LinkedIn, Facebook etc.

Tip: Have patience and make sincere efforts to establish your credibility among your contacts. It may take a while before you start getting results.