You know the old saying ?It's not what you know it's who you know?? Well, there's a lot of truth in it, so even if your skills and are experience are fantastic it won?t do your career any harm to learn the art of networking. SecretarialCareers.co.uk's guide to

Networking Skills

gives you the insider?s knowledge on how to make this invaluable skill second nature.

 

Networking is now a key part of career progression - it pays to have a solid network of knowledgeable and useful contacts. If you go about it in a professional way, good networking can make a tremendous difference to your career path.

 

How can networking benefit me?

 

Networking can be used to benefit you in a number of ways, for example: being able to access someone in a position of authority who can help you and give you advice, which may lead to getting a much-needed promotion or a different role that is better suited to your skill-base. And when it comes to getting a new job it has to be one of the most powerful tools you have. How many times have you heard someone say, ?I got the job through someone I know?? Such is the power of successful networking.

 

Career consultant Hilton Catt, author of The Power of Networking, found that in the engineering sector, for example, 50% of junior- to middle-management workers find jobs through networking. That?s powerful stuff, so here?s SecretarialCareers.co.uk?s low-down on how to create, maintain and make the perfect network work for you.

 

The network checklist

 

Who?

• Be aware that you already have a potential network at your fingertips - people you have worked with or currently work with, professional contacts for example: clients or suppliers with which you have built up good working relationships
• Make sure the people you choose are reliable and trustworthy
• Networking is a two-way process - if you think someone will let you down or reflect badly on you, be ruthless and exclude them from your networking list. You need to feel confident that if you recommend someone to a colleague etc they will come up with the goods
• Don?t have too many networking colleagues - things can get messy, better to concentrate on a few excellent contacts who can cut the mustard, than ten who are a waste of your time

How to make it work

• Be clear about what you are asking your contacts to help you to achieve - how far do you want them to go. It is essential to have clearly defined objectives - decide what you want and then ask for it. If you want a new position say: 'I want to make my next move - do you know of anyone who is looking to recruit?
• You should also be approachable and accessible
• Treat networking as if you were in a lifelong interview - a daunting prospect, however, just as you wouldn't go to a job interview and confess all your darkest faults, it is necessary to keep up appearances with your network
• Maintain a professional image at all times - remember networking is down to who you know and what they know about you
• Keep in regular contact
• Get back to people when you say you will
• When you leave a position make sure it is on good terms
• Don?t speak ill of colleagues - whether current or ex
• Never gossip!