Whether you are looking for a job or climbing the corporate ladder, the timid inside you may come in play and keep you tong-tied when you're supposed to meet new people. Some of us would just not want to leave their comfort zones.
We all set personal goals for the new year. New year's resolutions include places to go, things to buy, goals to reach, and a standing to achieve. However, the busy schedule of January forces us to postpone our resolutions till next year. When it comes to Networking, it is never late to set goals.
Once we hear about a vacancy announcement in our workplaces, a list of acquaintances who might be a fit for the position runs through our heads. The list may include, for example, a close friend who we know to be looking for a job, a friend from the school who recently told us their resignation, or a new contact we met yesterday waiting in the line of a bank.
A warm and genuine conversation with Ertugrul Belen on the content and scope of the training, as well as Belen's vision of networking, December the 19th, right before the Networking training Belen implemented in collaboration with Bilgi Training Center at İstanbul Bilgi University.
Sending a few words of congratulations is one opportunity for you to keep your network revved up.
Reinforcing your connections online is smart. To follow up on your newly-made acquaintances, the first step you should take is searching and adding them to your network on LinkedIn.
Which works better to maintain your connections: telephone calls or e-mails? Your preference for the first contact with an unfamiliar person reveals who you are.
What you've read up until now is the tip of the iceberg. Now, we are to define what makes a good and bad networker.
Either good or bad, we all build relations. Gifted with social intelligence and confidence, some of us are better at it. But it would not make them "good networkers". If you do not build on your contacts, you are a bad networker.
In the previous chapter, we touched upon Networking opportunities we may enjoy in restaurants, planes, waiting lounges and gyms. This article will have a look into Networking approaches one can practice during reunions and wedding ceremonies.
You cannot predict where, how, and which opportunity will come along your way. Ask the people around you how they joined a company.
In Networking, recognition is a fruit of good relations. Moreover, it is essential for individuals to follow a certain communication strategy in Networking, just like the corporations do. Be in sight, as much as possible, to have a more solid network.
You are wrong if you think that business cards are dead in an era of electronic signatures. Business cards still serve as your weapon in Networking. Always have a business card on you.
Be an active listener in every environment. Include yourself in the conversation by asking questions. This way you can convince the other of your genuine curiosity. Try to ask open-ended questions, to avoid a simple yes or no that may discourage you to break the silence once again.
You're in an environment and you don't know any people there. You're scared of introducing yourself and joining the conversation. How will you start anyway? What do you have to say? The most difficult "simple thing" in the world is small talk.
Technology has offered numerous alternatives to face-to-face communication, but none of them has overshadowed the genuineness of face-to-face contacts. It does not matter even if you are a wizard of words with an enchanting staff of miraculous words.
First impression matters. And it requires preparation.
If you are a newbie in the realm of networking, you’d better roll your sleeves up for the simplest instead of the most challenging tasks.
Welcome to the Networking Series that cover the chapters I did not release while writing my book Networking: The Art of Meeting, Referring and Getting Known.