6 Keys To Networking

Make networking , or contact management is very important to get a job or improve your professional status. One way or another, we all do. However, we carry out this management in a random and spontaneous way, that is why many times it does not have the desired effect.

To network properly, it is important to design a contact management model that is consistent and functional. It is not complex, it simply involves some common sense, a lot of organizational skills and strategic thinking.

We are not yet in environments where meritocracy takes full effect. Many of the positions and opportunities circulate through word of mouth. They are reached by networking . Hence the importance of this activity. These are five strategies that will help you be more efficient in this area.

1. Have clear career goals

To network properly, you need to be very clear about what your professional goals are. Your strategy will depend on it. Try to be as precise and specific as possible in defining those purposes.

Avoid generalities. Your goal is not simply to get a job or move up in your profession. Give those names last names. For example, don’t just say “I want to get a job.” Describe the main characteristics of the job you want to fill. That will clarify the picture for you a lot.

2. Develop your personal brand

Both for your professional performance and for networking , it is important to design and implement a personal brand. This translates as making a presentation of who you are, emphasizing your particularities. What makes you different from others.

The question is: how do you want to be perceived by your professional environment? Obviously, we all want to be seen as the best. But we have to go a little further and detail what makes us especially strong in some respect. This must be reflected in all the image elements that we implement.

3. Design your presentation elements

The best thing is that in your social networks you have a personal profile and another professional. Your professional profile must be consistent with your personal brand and enhance it. Start with photography. Do not allow yourself to use poor quality or very casual images in front of your professional contacts. Let them see in you what you want them to see.

It is advisable to make some personal cards, which include the photo and your basic information. Always carry them with you and hand them over whenever you can. It is also convenient to have an impeccable and very professional CV. Keep your data updated on platforms such as LinkedIn and the like.

4. Networking implies contact

It is important to collect as many professional contacts as possible, in accordance with the objectives you have set for yourself. No contact is bad, you never quite know which of them can be a valuable help. If you are a lawyer, try to have a link with all the lawyers and jurists with whom you come in contact.

It is also very important that you look for groups related to your profession. There are many groups or forums that bring together people of your specialty. There are also countless private groups in which it is very positive to enter. Link up with all of them. They are usually spaces in which important information circulates that is not found elsewhere.

5. Don’t lose contact

From time to time, send a message to the contacts that you consider strategic. Try not to be invasive or pushy. Just send a short greeting message, sharing some content or asking a specific question. This will keep you in the focus of your contacts. Don’t forget to congratulate them each time they achieve a professional achievement.

Likewise, don’t let any week go by without participating in one of those groups, forums or meetings in which you have been involved. Let them see that you are there. Participation generates acts as a wake-up call for others and strengthens your personal brand.

6. Review and reevaluate

It is convenient that you periodically make a review. Adjust the dark spots in your personal brand, update and improve what can be improved in your profile, change the appearance of your personal cards, etc. This creates an image of professionalism.

In the same way, research new contacts, new groups, new tools in the sector that interests you, etc. Be present at conferences, seminars and other events that take place around your profession. You never know what you can get from one of these spaces, in addition to information and knowledge.

Make networking is always worthwhile. Don’t expect your contact management to pay off right away, although it does sometimes. The important thing is that you create a network around you and that you create new synergies.