Networking - Mistakes to avoid

First of all I apologize to the readers for having been quiet so long. The last few months have been so hectic that I did not have time to do my usual writing.

Here's today's post and it is on a very relevant subject on Networking. Now we all know good networkers and not-so-good networkers. This post is for the not-so-good networkers.

1. 500+ Linkedin Contacts is NOT networking  A lot of people think that networking is a count of as many people one has been acquainted with. Wrong! Recently I met a friend of mine after two years. We talked for an hour and while parting, she said 'lets connect over Linkedin. I will send you an invite'. I burst out laughing. That's because she has long since been my Linkedin contact. The fact is that she has 500+ contacts and she has lost track of who she is linked to.

The key to networking is how well you have kept in touch with your friends or network in a human manner.

2. Do not use Automated social contact mechanisms to automatically keep in touch.
How often have you got a congratulation message when a status changes or when your birthday comes. Sure, keep your Facebook app for remembering anniversaries and birthdays. However do send a personal mail, even it is a one-liner, greeting the other person. Never let an app do it for you. By receiving a personal message from you, the receiver will feel wanted, rewarded and hence reserve a soft corner for you which will always help you.

Same goes for sending an invite to a social portal such as Linkedin.  Use the invite text box to type in your personal message. 'Example, Dear Kaushik, how are you? Long time since we met. How are Vimala and children? Lets catch up sometime".  Now compare this with the standard message that is generated. Can you see the difference?

3. Build and Retain personal credibility: This is very important. Your friends must know you and respect you as much as you do them. For example, you may have a well placed friend who is a CEO of a multi national and another friend who is a travel desk consultant in a large public sector. Treat them both equally. Respect and courteousness are very important to retain network.

4. Reach out and Help your network : I cannot emphasize this enough. Most people on official networking sites only reach out to others when they need help and not vice versa. When your network (acquaintance, not close friend) sends you a mail asking you to help in a job search, please do not reply saying 'Please send me your CV. I will forward'. Now, I can see you all smiling because each one of us have done that to 'get rid of the nuisance'. Instead do try your best to find opportunities and give a call back to the acquaintance and explain your own efforts and also provide suggestions on how best he/she can look for a job. If you are afraid that that person might leech on your back, let go of that fear. As a successful professional, you know how to handle unnecessary intruders.

5. Make friends with support staff: Always build relationships with your MD's executive assistant, the office admin staff, the travel desk consultant and the IT manager in your organization. No process and SLA can get you a speedy delivery as much as what personal relationships can do.

6. Make time for friends:  Here's a quick check. Look at your chat messages and see how soon you have aborted the conversation with 'ttyl', 'ttys', 'Kids have school tomorrow' etc. This means that friends/network are low priority for you. I have a friend who always types these four lines on WhatsApp and vanishes even before I respond.

hi
howru
l
tc

Sometimes if you are obsessed with being organized and being overly a to-do list accomplisher you have a high risk of losing out on network because networking does not have a place in your life. Instead spend at least half a week end day per month in meeting a network-friend for coffee outside home. A coffee meeting is casual, takes less time and creates enough bonding between people.