Five Ways to Improve Your Career Networking Results - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Five Ways to Improve Your Career Networking Results - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Networking is the #1 way people get new jobs and advance their careers. And yet, few people have been professionally trained in  networking strategies and skills.  I want you to become  a more effective networker so you can  improve you career and income! If you read my last post, Five Ways Your Networking Is Hurting Your Career, then you gained  some initial ideas  for improving your networking results. In this post, I want to dig  deeper  into this subject and provide you  specific  suggestions that I have seen many clients utilize to their advantage.  Their results improved and I believe the following ideas can also benefit you in the five areas outlined The first topic I mentioned in my last post was that most people dont do enough networking. Provided you are conducting  productive networking activities, then it seems  obvious that more activity will produce more results or produce them faster. The most productive networking activities, if done right, are one-on-one meetings and (for remote contacts) one-on-one pre-planned telephone conversations. I recommend 10 of these per week for  demanding situations, such as when you are unemployed and spending all your time looking for your next job. A second reason I suggested people are hurt by networking was that people may come across as  self-centered and turn others off. This is especially true of unemployed job seekers. One way to determine if this is a problem  is to examine what percent of your meeting times your are  talking. Pay attention in your calls and meetings to  monitor  how you are doing. If you are talking the majority of the time, then it is very possible the other person will see you as self-centered and be less motivated to help you. A third way  career opportunities may be diminished while networking  is by  not making  effective requests for action from the people you  meet.  If you  say things such as let me know if you hear of something is a  non-specific request and  it is highly likely your phone will never ring. Instead, ask for specific help while you have the person engaged, such as Who do you know in any of my  companies of interest? Would you be willing to make a personal introduction of me to them? A fourth reason your networking may not be working  is because you fail to have a pre-planned agenda that guides your networking  conversations. I cant tell you how many times I have met with job seekers (and even sales people and business owners) who ramble on and on  without seeming to be getting to the point. If you requested the meeting or call, then you are responsible for  the agenda and for staying on track. This insures your  important topics get covered while being  considerate of the other persons time. There are dozens of  other networking factors  that can contribute to poor networking  results, but the fifth  and last item I mentioned in my last  blog was that people  fail to follow up in a timely manner. In my experience, this has reached epidemic proportions. If you owe someone an action, get it done sooner rather than later and advise them you have completed it.  One great strategy is to come away from every networking meeting or call with at least one thing to do for the other person. By giving back and doing it promptly, you model  the behavior you want from the other person and thus  encourage them to do the same for you. Networking is a deep subject and, next to job interviewing, is probably the most important skill area that can benefit job seekers and others wanting more from their careers. It is a subject in my career book and I am producing  an upcoming video series on it. If you like your employer, why not network to find a better, higher-paying job in another workgroup? If you dont like your employer, crank up your networking and move on!