Career
Pathways
How to network successfully
Networking is the key to landing a new job or making a career shift. Yet, despite this undeniable importance of networking, most job seekers either do not work on developing networks, or they fail to recognize the networks around them, or they do not take advantage of the networks they have built. The most common pitfall is the failure to recognize that networks are nothing more than the relationships that are developed with people, and it is only by developing and nurturing these relationships that you may be able to conduct a faster and more effective job search.
Relationships, however, need to be developed and this can only be done through extending a helping hand as much as is possible. Try to go out of your way to help those around you – be they your friends, your family, your colleagues, your neighbors or your classmates. The reason this works is simple: If you help people, they will be more inclined to help you out in your hour of need.
How can you extend a helping hand? You do not have to do something that requires you to go out of your way. You can help others in various simple ways, which may not seem like a big deal at first. For instance, you help them by sending links to a website or directions to a bus stop. Develop an interest in the lives and needs of others, so that you can gauge and anticipate their needs and help to fulfill them. If you can figure out or anticipate other people’s problems, you will be better able to help solve them in order to make others’ lives easier. Networks can also be creating by expanding your social circle by making strategic friends who may prove to be useful to you in the long run. By expanding your social circle, you can get to know other people, and you might eventually be able to tap into their networks to expand your own.
