Networking with a mission
This excerpt is from a column I wrote for the Daily Journal of Commerce,?10/7/2011.
For many people, networking is a lot like doing sit-ups: a painful exercise they never seem to find time to fit in to their routines. After all, how many industry events have you dutifully attended, stocked with business cards, only to talk to a few people who were never going to hire you?
In a past column (June 2010), I talked about how to break the ice at networking events. But how does one ensure that networking isn’t going to be a colossal waste of time?
Start at home
Remember the people who believe in you. Start by networking with friends and associates who already want to help you. The number one root of ineffective networking is the failure to inform champions that you’re interested in their help. People buy from people they like and trust. Why spend all that time trying to make new friends when you haven’t fully tapped your existing network.