Career Networking – A Good Recipe For Professional Success

 Career networking is a significant milestone in one’s professional life. In some organizations, especially in Pakistan, when employers are hiring new staff, their first inclination is typically towards employee referrals or internal searches. Both the job seekers and professionals need to have a network of contacts that can provide them career support, professional information and new vacancies, if any. Productive networking does not mean making use of your contacts for all they are worth. It means participating in a process of give-and-take, where people benefit from and help each other.

Career and professional networking means to establish relationships so that you can enlist support and comfortably ask for ideas, advice and referrals from those with hiring power. Leslie Smith, of the National Association of Female Executives, defines networking as the process of “planning and making contacts and sharing information for professional and personal gain.” The importance of career networking should never be underestimated. It is very obvious that career networking goes hand in hand with professional growth and job hunting.

Career Networking and Social Media

With the Internet buzzing with social media, there are many ways to use social media in order to network, and eventually find a job. Social networks allow all parties involved to better search for and reach their target.

LinkedIn

Basically, LinkedIn is a site that allows you to connect to the professionals you know. It also allows you to see profiles of other professionals, and to connect with them. You can also send emails to the people in your LinkedIn contact list and ask them for career support or advice. Kay Luo, the Director of Corporate Communications at LinkedIn, says, “The main reason that companies are using LinkedIn is to find passive job candidates. Another reason why companies are using LinkedIn, is because referrals from their employees are highly valued because they typically have a higher success rate (hence the popular “employee referral bonuses”). LinkedIn helps companies leverage the networks of their employees.”

Twitter

Twitter is a social networking and blogging media that utilizes instant messaging, SMS or a web interface. People and companies use it in a variety of ways, including job search and career networking. Twitter allows you to connect with people on the basis of common interests. This is indeed a great way to do some professional networking in an easy way. Twitter has a job search engine that searches Twitter for jobs  whichmatch the keywords that you enter. In order to be noticed, your Twitter name should be your actual name, as it will help in your search engine results. The more complete your LinkedIn profile, the more chances you will have to be found and to be contacted. Use your LinkedIn profile like a resume and provide prospective employers with detailed information on your skills and experience.

Facebook

Facebook is mainly used for connecting with friends or people you know and reconnecting with people in your past. However, it can also be an effective professional and business networking tool. While using Facebook as a tool for career networking, sometimes the line between social and professional contacts gets blurry. However, If you are careful, and use your connections wisely, you can ultimately get what you want form the social media websites. If you decide to use Facebook for professional networking, take a close look at your ‘Profile’ and decide what you want business contacts or prospective employers to see. Post content relevant to your job search or career along with the routine status updates. In order to be taken professionally on Facebook, be very careful what you share with the world.

Career Networking For Job Seekers

You never know where you might find someone who can help with your job search. That is why it is important to be open about the fact that you are searching a job and need assistance. Develop contacts with friends, family, neighbors, college alumni, people in associations and anyone who might help generate information about the job opportunities.  You can take a direct approach and ask for job leads or try a less formal approach and ask for information and advice.  Contact everyone in your list;  you may be surprised by the people they know and in how many ways these contacts can help you.

Informal networking is quite effective in a job search. If you are attending a gathering or any other type of party, it is appropriate to mention in casual conversation that you are seeking employment.  Accept all the invitations you receive because you never know where or when you might meet someone who can provide assistance about job search.
Formal networking is very effective as well. Try going to business, social or association meetings or events.  You will find that many of the participants have the same goals you do and will be glad to exchange business cards.  If you are shy or do not find any chance of formal networking, try to volunteer for some organization of your field, where you can meet and greet people and make new contacts.
Career Networking For Professionals

Even if you are not looking for a job at the present, career networking should be a part of your routine. In this era of global financial recession, you never know when you might find yourself in need of a new job. People have suddenly and unexpectedly lost their jobs without any prior notice from their employers. If you have a good professional network in place, and contacts that you keep in touch with, it will be much easier to get started on a job search than if you do not have any and are starting from the scratch. If you do not meet your contacts very often, it does not take long to send an email or a message just to say hello. Meeting the people you have only known online is helpful as well. That makes your personal connection even stronger.

Career experts have long stressed the significance of professional networking for career growth. Through networking, we can learn about job opportunities, particularly those we wouldn’t have had access to otherwise. However, job search should not be the prime focus of your networking efforts. Your network can prove to be a very useful mean, when it comes to other aspects of your career. Taking the time to build and maintain your network is well worth the effort. Those connections you make today can help you move along the career ladder tomorrow.