Use the Internet to Network

Networking is such a hard thing to do. Most every major job advice book or blog out there will tell you to network if you want a new job. And they are right. The reality is that the majority of new employees hired, were done so thanks to either their personal or professional network.

The problem is that maintaining such a network isn’t the foremost thought on your mind when you’re gainfully and happily employed . It’s only when you are looking for a job that you realize you’ve neglected to keep it up. This is also the time you realize quickly building one isn’t as effective.

Does this mean that you always have to prepare for being unemployed? Well, yes, to put it bluntly, you do. But you don’t have to make it a chore. Networking really isn’t as hard as it sounds, and it can be fun. You can do it while you’re doing your everyday activities at both work and at home.

Networking is social. It’s making friends. You do that everyday already. The secret is to keep those friendships going. Maintain relationships with clients and co-workers even when they don’t cross your professional path everyday, or if you get transferred to a different division with different responsibilities that don’t involve those people anymore.

One neat trick I just picked up might help you make contacts outside of your immediate business circle, and possibly in other parts of the country. If you’re a heavy blog reader, which most of us are, try commenting on your favorite industry blogs and strike up a conversation with the blog author. Blogs have an incredible power to reach a wide and diverse audience. Sure, the author might not have a job for you, but he or she will have a large and vast network of similar people like you that can help in a pinch.

The best thing about this method is that it spreads your network to other states. So if you have to move for any reason you can reasonably have a few friends – or at least acquaintances – that might help you.

Other online methods include keeping a professional blog. You don’t want to bad mouth your company or your boss to get readers because you’ll attract the wrong kind – the kind that won’t be able to help you because they themselves are out of work. You want to comment on the industry you work in, suggest tips for improving performance — elements such as that. It not only serves to widen your network, but it can also be a positive reference on the web when your potential employee googles you — which they so often do these days.

But that’s another blog.