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4 Devastating Career Killers … and How to Avoid Them (Part 3)

March 4, 2010 | Author: Allyn Horne | Filed under: The Networking Habit

Killer #3: Neglecting Your Network

Did you know? Our research into the success habits of high-earning professionals shows that your network is your most important career asset. Despite that, our research also shows that only 20 percent of job seekers regularly connect with their networks.

 

Neglect your network at your peril. Or, better yet, follow these steps to nurture and manage your network well, just as you would any other major asset—and experience a very large, very satisfying career return.

 

  • Segment your network. How many people exist in your network? 100? 200? 400? More? Just as companies segment customers into value tiers to deliver appropriate amounts of service and benefit, so, too, should you segment and deliver various levels of value to your network members. UpMo’s My Network function facilitates both the segmentation and value delivery processes so you can maintain closer contact with your very-important, top-tier network members while staying well within memory’s reach of those on the outskirts.
  • Schedule time for the most important people in your network. Notice the “work” in network? Yes, it takes work. But the most important people in your network are those most able to influence your career—those most able to help you get jobs. Are you looking for work right now? Then schedule—as in, put on your calendar—at least an hour a day to nurture your network.
  • Track your network communications. When’s the last time you connected with Joe VIP? Or Jane CEO? How about Manager John, who knows at least three dozen quality people who might someday help you find work? UpMo’s My Action Plan function, combined with the Career Center Toolbox, makes short work of tracking communications for you by adding a level of automation and communication templates to what might otherwise be a difficult, yet oh-so-important, task.
  • Add value first. Think about it: whom would you rather help? The guy you haven’t connected with in three years who suddenly calls you out of the blue just because he needs something? Or the gal you worked with four years ago but who’s been staying in touch, sending e-mails, remembering your birthday, meeting you for coffee now and again? The key to effective networking is to give value to your network first, before asking for value in return.
  • Be authentic. Be yourself. Most networks today are a blend of personal and professional, which exposes you to more risk, as your actions with one set of connections might limit your options in another. You might have to restrain from certain behaviors because colleagues and holders-of-the-jobs are watching. But if they’re watching the bad, then they’re also watching the good. So always be authentic. Always be generous. Always be yourself. The people in your network who know your character and trust you will be your best potential references and sources of opportunity.

 

We’ll talk about one of the best ways you can display authenticity in our next post—the last in our Career Killer series. See you then!

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This entry was posted on Thursday, March 4th, 2010 and is filed under The Networking Habit. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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1 person has left a comment

For me, the toughest part of networking is not the work itself; I like being of service to others, and the help I receive in return is great, too. And, intellectually, I know I need to do it. It really comes down to the time commitment. Carving out a good chunk of a time in a busy schedule, and exercising the discipline to maintain it, is tough for me. I know it won’t help me get to where I want to go, but it’s so much easier to just go with the flow!

Adding to the difficulty, it’s easy for me to look at my long list of contacts and think, “I’m so behind! I’m not making any progress here!” In other words, it’s easy to get down over all the things I’m not doing, rather than celebrating what I am doing. UpMo is really helping me in this regard, allowing me to focus on my most important contacts and not get so freaked out about keeping in touch with valuable but more distant connections.

Greg Howard wrote on March 4, 2010 - 7:06 pm | Visit Link

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