Networking form A to Z

As a professional, you have probably faced the following situation: you have a specific need, and you realize that you actually do not know anyone that could help you; emergency and hurry probably led you to hire or ask for help from someone without references. There is a solution to prevent bad decisions in those moments: networking.

As the Cobuild Advanced English Dictionary says, networking is the process of trying to meet new people who might be useful to you in your job, often through social activities.

What does it mean? It means you need to create a list of people from different expertise areas to develop a net that would help you when you need it. As with every social skill, it needs to be trained, and you have to improve your social relations with every person around you, mainly the ones connected to the business world. There are three different types:

Personal networking. It is interacting with coworkers outside the office. Create a social bond that allows you, behind work borders, to explore new areas where you can learn from and where you can make an addition.
Strategic networking. It is the most popular one. Connecting with people in vertical ways, with higher and lower positions than yours; connecting horizontally, with people with the same functions, and consider that it is better if you connect with different roles. The key is to use all the resources, information, and abilities you have to give and to get, in other words, to grow and to help.
Operational networking. Create good relationships between teamwork. It doesn’t matter if you have a management position or not; developing good communication and confidence with coworkers is essential for daily activities; even when it is not easy, having alliances will make your network grow.

Knowing people will open doors that you didn’t know even existed. Losing the opportunity to take your networking seriously will slow your growth, or maybe it will stop it. Start now, learn from people and determine how they could help you in the future and how you would help them.

If your company needs help to design and implement a strategy related to this topic, contact us today at info@lucioles.io