Have you started networking yet?

October 4, 2006 · Filed Under For the love of HR 

If the answer is “no”, the question is “Why?”

If you are unemployed, are you spending more time submitting applications than connecting with people in your industry? If you are currently employed and seeking employment, are you spending 80% of your job seeking time networking for contacts? If you are happy with your job, are you certain that it is going to be there in six months? Even if you are secure, are you sure you couldn’t be building business relationships by expanding your contacts? Are you better off knowing more or less people in your business?

The answer for all of this is simple: network.  It has become cliche to say it but you would be foolish to ignore it for that reason. Good relationship building is a key indicator of success.

So how do you start networking? Three things you can do right now (from easiest to hardest):

  1. Get LinkedIn. I suggest LinkedIn because it is an easy way to keep track of people but any sort of e-mail or internet based contact method is grouped in here too. If you like my blog for instance, we can connect via e-mail or LinkedIn (lance AT yourhrguy DOT com if you like). If you make a new contact, you should ask if they have an e-mail address or LinkedIn. Most recruiters like making connections, e-mails and LinkedIn helps facilitate that.
  2. Pick up the phone. There is such a phone fear today but it is an important tool for connecting. The advantage of phone is that it is immediate. I use the phone so often, I forget that some people want appointments to talk on the phone. If I talk to anyone who may be on a busy schedule, I make sure to try to make an appointment by e-mail or by a quick phone call (or message). My rule is call everyone on your contact list once a quarter. Even for ten minutes. You can probably allocate more time for family though. ;-)
  3. Meet new people. My goal is a bit different than most people. I want to meet one new person per day. That might be a bit much (especially if you’re just starting), so I challenge people to meet one new person per week.  That is about 50 new people per year. It is so very doable with just a minimal amount effort.

Those three steps are a good start to networking.

Check out HRM Today for the latest in the HR blogosphere.

Comments

3 Responses to “Have you started networking yet?”

  1. marvin walberg on October 5th, 2006 3:46 am

    Great! Another one I talk about all the time in my column. Can I use you again in an upcoming “Getting Hired”

    Marvin

    [Reply]

  2. Your HR Guy on October 5th, 2006 3:47 am

    Absolutely.

    [Reply]

  3. Tiffany on October 6th, 2006 12:04 pm

    What, no link to your LinkedIn profile? ;)

    [Reply]

Leave a Reply




  • About

    Your HR Guy is a Human Resources Generalist practicing in the field. But don't let that fool you, this isn't a boring blog. I seek relevance and humor in a place we will spend much of our lives. Everything from workplace issues, job seeking and terrible bosses. Read more...

    View Lance Haun [lancehaun@gmail.com]'s profile on LinkedIn



    Featured on:




    Rate this Blog at Blogged

    Alltop, confirmation that I kick ass

  • RSS HRM Today

    • Magic Johnson Reinvents His Brand From Basketball to Business
      Branding Magic Johnson When I think of Magic Johnson, the following words come to mind: Lakers - He took the Lakers NBA team to many championships. Basketball - He played basketball for most of his life. HIV - While playing basketball he was diagnosed with HIV. Philanthropy - He founded the The Magic Johnson Foundation. How would you brand Magic Johnson? Magic [...]
      Dan Schawbel
    • SHRM, Kennedy, & Blowing Up Human Resources
      When you believe in destroying the traditional model of Human Resources — much like I do — you run into major obstacles. The biggest obstacle in my life is also the biggest elephant in the room: it’s The Society for Human Resources Management. SHRM is the most influential Human Resouces association in America. It’s staffed with [...]
      Laurie Ruettimann
    • Stand up for Tolerance: 10th Annual Transgender Day of Remembrance
      Today is the 10th Annual Transgender Day of Remembrance, dedicated to all those transgender folks who died as a result of anti-transgender violence. Thankfully, I have never lost a loved one to such an act of violence; but, I would never forgive myself if I had not spoken up and taken a stand on [...]
      Totally Consumed
    • The Best Piece of Advice
      I’m a bit reflective today because I’m formulating my Zig Ziglar inspired Wall of Gratitude (to be blogged later this weekend…stay tuned).  It has me thinking about all of the pivotal moments and life-changing people I’ve experienced in my short professional career. I presented the topic of MBTI preferences and Team Building to a group of [...]
      speakingofmbti
    • 10 Solutions To Our Ailing Economy
      Yes, I am going to nag about the economy again.  My economist friend in Oregon agreed with my posting yesterday.  He told me that there is only one Fortune 500 company left in Oregon (Nike); the rest put on their Nike’s and ran as fast they could away from this unfriendly-to-business state.  The same happened to Silicon [...]
      rulrici
    • Develop Your Strengths or Fix Your Weaknesses?
      Gary Vaynerchuk, blogger and creator of Wine Library TV, had a fantastic (and short) video on his personal blog yesterday titled “I suck!” Gary spends the first 60 seconds rattling off a list of things he’s horrible at, and then begins to explain how instead of dwelling on what he’s bad at, he’s instead chosen to [...]
      Chris Ferdinandi
    • Tip of the Week – Test Candidate Matching
      It’s Friday afternoon, and you just posted a position with your applicant tracking system (ATS). The position has been placed on your website, job boards and the other usual sources. When you come to work on Monday, you realize that you have had over 200 candidates apply for the position. Sound familiar? Well it doesn’t necessary [...]
      Jake Stupak
    • Fiddling While Rome Burns
      “Rome” is burning.  The “Rome” I am talking about is the private sector of the U.S. economy.  Last month, the only job sector that grew was government jobs.  I get this feeling that we are pulling a “Nero” watching this thing happen and are hopelessly standing by not doing anything about it.  I read HR Blogs, including [...]
      rulrici
    • Building Community in a Face-to-Faceless World
      Note from Lance: I asked my former employer to do a guest post about some of the cool things they are doing with some of the interesting challenges they face. Today’s author is Kristen Leal who manages QualitySmith’s PR and Talent Strategy. Thanks! I was filling up my water bottle one day at work when I [...]
      Lance Haun
    • Can HR REALLY be a Profit Center?
      In recent discussions I have heard two schools of thought regarding how HR can be viewed as a profit center: 1) By reducing costs such as absenteeism, turnover, and bad hires, HR can add more to the bottom line 2) HR can add value to the organization by increasing revenue I believe we are getting pretty good at [...]
      Cathy Martin

  • RSS Background Check News