Networking Important for your Career

Networking. The word alone strikes fear in the hearts of many. Unfortunately, many job seekers are hesitant to take advantage of networking because they're afraid of being seen as pushy, irritating, or self-serving. But networking isn't about using other people or aggressively promoting yourself—it's about building relationships. The job market has changed drastically over the last couple of years and adopting a networking lifestyle will help with your career success.

For online networking to be successful, you need to adopt an attitude of connecting and helping others in good times and bad. Networking is nothing more than getting to know people. Whether you realize it or not, you're already networking every day and everywhere you go.

Here are five tips that can assist you to get the most out of your connections:

Be helpful
Find ways to help your contacts. Send news stories, articles, or blogs of relevance. Refer a colleague. Create credibility with your connections by assisting them to connect with relevant other individuals. These are easy ways to make a huge impact. By helping people in your network, they will be more open to helping you in the future. The reality is business transactions are always mutually beneficial. Be a resource and be helpful to your connections in addition to finding ways to create a dialogue with them.

Always look for connection opportunities
If you want to be successful in your career, then you need to have a great source of relevant connections in your network that you can call on when you need them. It's important to always be on the lookout for opportunities to connect with new people. Valuable connections are contacts who can provide you with direct leads, direct work, industry trends, and valuable information.

Be Visible
Possibly one of the hardest parts of efficient networking is making sure you're in front of mind when opportunities come up. If you haven't spoken or interacted with a particular contact in a while, coming out of the blue and asking for help finding a role will probably not be successful. It's important to continuously be an active participant in your network.

Listen
Listening is the most important skill you need to network effectively. Through listening, you build a bond of trust. Through listening, you gather information to see how you can help someone else and how you or your network can be helped. Listening will help you to get to learn about peoples' challenges and get to know them better, which can ultimately lead to more productive professional relationships.

No matter what industry you're in, knowing the right people can pay off.

When it's done well, networking can lead to more clients, more exposure, and more opportunities to progress up the career ladder.

If you are looking for a new job and need some help and guidance, network with our specialist recruitment consultants. Communicate Recruitment is a recruitment agency with experienced consultants that are well-connected contract with some of the top employers in the country and can assist you in finding a new job that will excite you all over again. We are recruiting for companies that have vacancies in the Finance, IT, Engineering, Freight, or Supply Chain industries for both permanent, contract positions. Check out our vacancy page and apply now!