people don’t understand that networking is about helping each other and in the same time helping ourselves. One of the most valuable parts of networking is recommendation. If I recommend someone I sign it with my name. So if we think about it we can realize that if I sign my name under recommendation for someone who is not qualified (see example above) I will get my *** kicked as hard as that person when he get fired for being useless. Also the idea of networking goes like this

Help yourself by helping others. If you help others and they will manage to do big things they will be able to help you if you need them.

Unfortunately I don’t know the term (in english) for that negative way of helping out.. but I am aware that because of it a lot of people are afraid of networking and think of it in a wrong way… almost as bad as MLM

anyway, nice article. looking forward for new ones

When brainstorming potential contacts, don’t forget to include:

* Members of professional organizations
* Past or present co-workers
* Friends you’re in touch with regularly
* Old friends, such as college buddies whom you see infrequently
* Members of your religious community
* Peer volunteers
* Informational interviewees
* Your kids’ friends’ parents
* Your mentor(s)
* Business associates, such as customers, clients, vendors, and suppliers

Once we begin brainstorming, we are usually pleasantly surprised by the number of people we already know.

This is an excellent article! Many articles on networking don’t deal realistically with peoples’ discomfort with it, and their lack of knowledge of how to manage networking.

I would like to second the author’s advice to join Linkedin.com — if you want to network, but are uncomfortable with rooms full of new people, Linkedin is a “virtual” way to network that is far more comfortable.

After meeting people online in Linkedin, it is far easier to email them and request in-person meetings.

I would recommend another book on Linkedin, which has very rich features that are not apparent when you first join — it is “LinkedIn for Dummies” by Joel Elad. The book is a very easy-to-read manual on how to get the most out of Linkedin.

Don’t be put off by the book’s title — the book is quite sophisticated.

Cordially,
Robin Elizabeth Margolis
Director, E-Discovery Paralegals Network
http://www.ediscoverypara.wordpress.com

As I meet with people who are overwhelmed with the task of organizing a networking campaign (which really should be lifelong) I remember my frustration at the beginning of my job search – how in the world do you keep track of it all?

I created JibberJobber.com to be the tool to replace the job search spreadsheet, and manage all of the details of networking, target companies, jobs you apply to, etc.

Whether you use JibberJobber or salesforce, you really should use something robust to help you organize and manage the details of your relationships – it’s amazing how many people we can network with if we know who is in our network!

- jason

I think you’re absolutely right that it’s harder to network when you’re feeling down or are not yet comfortable talking about a recent layoff.

People don’t realize that networking can actually help boost their confidence. And it will absolutely show them that there are plenty of others who have been downsized and that there’s no negative stigma, especially if you learn how to tell your story the right way.