Networking 101
Making Contact Online
As you may have heard, over 50% of job opportunities are discovered through networking. Unfortunately, the corporate climate of today's lean, mean organizations leaves less time for employees to physically meet with job hunters to exchange information. Though nothing is comparable to face-to face communication, the internet is providing a new accessible level to this "hidden job market."
Follow these steps for successful electronic networking:
- Define your market. Choose an electronic community where participants are likely to be employed within your targeted industry.
- Become familiar with the norms and current topics of the electronic community before you begin to interact. These are real, live humans that exist at the other end of the network; normally you wouldn't barge into a conversation if you didn't know the topic people to were discussing. There is no exception to this when you're online.
- When you are ready to participate in the discussions, do not ask directly for a job. You need to build your online rapport and it often takes 2 or 3 e-mail exchanges to get to know someone.
- Check your e-mail regularly so that the number of "new" messages do not become unmanageable. Otherwise, you will not be able to stay on top of your contacts and build any sort of relationship.
- Start today!
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Last updated on Monday, September 18, 06 at 01:41:15 PM EDT.
