Networking Lies and Truths

My clients surprise me when they shy away from networking. "Shy away" is a good description what they do, in fact. They fear it.

Most fears, though, can be eliminated by knowledge. The fear of networking is no different. So let's discuss a few networking truths and and lies.

Networking is difficult.

Lie. You network anytime you're introduced to someone or meet someone new. You're even networking when you run into someone you know at the grocery store. You shake hands, exchange greetings and smile. You engage in small talk.

Social networking is not unlike networking for business or your work search. You exchange a little more focused information, true, but meeting people is meeting people. You do it all the time and you will continue doing it. That's not so hard, is it?

Networking seems so desperate.

Lie...and Truth. It's all in how you do it. If you plead for work or seem desperate, your networking - and indeed, your interviews - will suffer. If, however, you approach it like the professional you are, you will not come across as desperate.

It's that simple. Really. Yes, you want information, but you also have information. Networking is all about getting to know people and sharing information.

Networking gets a bad rap sometimes because of a few bad apples - the ones who are only me, me, me. They are the takers - and they are not doing it correctly.

Networking doesn't work that well.

Lie. As mentioned in an earlier post, 70% of all jobs are obtained by networking. It works EXCEEDINGLY well.

Networking is a lot of work.

Truth. But then, most worthwhile things are. You will get out of it exactly what you put into it. If you put in the work, you will get back to work. Besides - you will get a much higher return on your investment of time and effort than by spending the same time and effort only sending your resume into cyberspace.

Networking is takes too much time.

Lie. It does take time, but you are investing that time. You should spend the bulk of your job hunting time networking since the bulk of the jobs out there are obtained through networking. Don't look at it as time taken from looking for work; look at it as looking for work.

IN A NUTSHELL: Don't shy away from networking. It should be the cornerstone of your work search.