Irrelevant of your job, industry, or position, in order to be successful, you have to understand the essence of networking and be able to grasp the best ways to network across the globe. Attending various events and meeting people at the workplace can prove beneficial in may ways. In order to instill trust and credibility in both personal brand and the company you work for, you will have to showcase your capabilities and abilities to reinforce your professionalism.
Whether you are making new connections or maintaining the old ones, here are a few thumb rules for the world of networking:
1) Open Minded
Take initiative, introduce yourself, and talk to as many people as you can when you are at work-related event or parties. It also symbolically shows that you have an outgoing attitude. Leave a good impression so that potential employers consider you and want to do business with you when needed.
2) Follow-Up
After the event or party, take some time after a few days to wish them “Hi” and tell the person that you had pleasure meeting them. Make something up from the conversation you had with the person maybe a personal note you discussed.
3) Keep in Touch
Contacting the person only when you need something for yourself will not work. Whether work-related or personal, keep your communication lines open. If you make the first contact to the person after 5 months just because you are in need of a job then there are pretty good chances of encountering your message as disingenuous. So keeping regularly in touch and having a light conversation is needed in order to maintain a good network.
4) Refer and Connect
If someone you have worked with is looking for something like a product or service which you are not into then refer someone you know who does. Like this not only your network grows but it becomes stronger by meeting and maintaining the relationship. If the person who you know gets business because of someone you sent their way, then they will be much more likely to return the favor when an opportunity arises.
Most people only network with people for themselves when they are in need of something. Instead, if you build an attitude “what can I do for you?” then there are more chances of it leading to success.