Embrace networking opportunities even if you dread it

[Joywtome231]

Yes, fellow introverts, I am suggesting that you do what you fear. Organizations, conferences, industry associations, etc. are all examples of places to practice your networking prowess. Back in my Diageo days, I remember a colleague was handing out cards during happy hour. I thought it was strange to be handing out business cards internally but looking back, my colleague differentiated herself and used the social hour to build new relationships. I wouldn't be surprised to hear about the opportunities that came about as a result of her networking savvy. I think we put loads of pressure on ourselves to be the George Clooney of networking. This means that you are calm, cool, and collected in all your networking encounters. Allow yourself ample opportunities to mess up networking in order to build your networking acumen. Let’s face it. Most people don’t become amazing networkers in one day! Additionally, this is not a one shot deal. There are always opportunities to network.

3. Job seekers, there are valuable documents to aid in the networking process.
Those documents include the business card, the 30-second commercial, and the united kingdom phone number resource networking brief. The 30-second commercial (also known as the elevator speech) really focuses on an introduction and sharing of the valuable service that you provide while the networking brief is a one-page summary that gives an overview of who you are, what you are looking for and how someone can help you accomplish your goals. Having these tools will help you better navigate the networking process. It’s amazing how many professionals do not have any of the above resources. Unless you face the predicament of job loss, you’re more apt to lose sight of these key resources that can help you to manage your career. For those that already have a job, these are resources that can still be leveraged. Use the opportunities that present themselves to share your brand. Companies constantly morph and being ready with these resources will certainly give you a leg up in the talent competition.

4. Create a rocking LinkedIn profile with a professional picture is key to online networking.
Novices underestimate the power of this 277 million-user network. They create profiles as a placeholder and shy away from investing the requisite time to create impressionable profiles that generate opportunities. I’m equally amazed when I see far from professional profile photos that look like it would be better suited for a Facebook profile. The good news is that LinkedIn offers tutorials that can help you update your profile to all-star strength, impacting how you show up in search results. There are also paid services that can makeover your LinkedIn profile if you don’t have the time or patience. This is something that I encourage you to do whether you are employed or not. Going back to those college students I encountered last month, all of them had LinkedIn profiles. And, the LinkedIn profile URL was on their business cards. These students have already differentiated themselves in the job search process without starting an active search.