Networking Wednesday

Networking is the key to landing the job you want in today’s job market. The more people that you get to know the more people that get to know you and are likely to tell their colleagues about you.

The root cause for your success is to surround yourself with successful people. Surrounding yourself with those that value success will only result in your own personal success in your career.

Don’t be afraid to reach out of your comfort zone and meet new people. You may be in line at Starbucks and strike up a conversation with the person next to you, only to find that they are a local manager at a company you’ve had your eye on for a while. You never know who you’re going to meet, and you never know when an opportunity to network will surface.

Be prepared to talk about your ambitions and unique skills that you should showcase. A professional you speak to may not have any positions at the moment that are for you, but they very well may know some other hiring manager at another company that you would be perfect for. Always keep your options open!

Image from: careeralism.com

The more people you network with, the greater chance you have of finding a position that is a fit for you. This is simple statistics. As the amount of connections increases, so does the percentage of you getting lucky.

Whenever you gain a new contact, be sure to ask for a business card and share your information as well.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions about a person to learn more about them. Networking events are designed for this, so have some questions ready to go!

Bottom line, be polite and be yourself. You don’t want to have a fake persona going into a networking event because professionals will be able to see right through it. Take a deep breath, and go make new contacts!

For more networking tips and guides, check out http://www.entrepreneur.com/blog/223468