How keeping a Stable Relationship Can Help you Land a Job
If you’ve gone into the habit of “cleaning up” your contacts once a week to delete the contact numbers of the people you didn’t hang out with in the said week, I can’t blame you. College can be pretty messy; you don’t need to keep people who do you no good. Now, however, I might have to ask you to get rid of that rather pragmatic habit. Now that you’re a job seeker, you never really know if a person can be very valuable to you even if he/she doesn’t seem like it at present.
Keeping in touch with fellow professionals can prove to be very helpful not just in landing a job, but also in giving advice and information based from actual experience. As with many other things, there is a “right way” to do professional networking. Follow the steps provided below to develop a good networking scheme:
Do not discriminate. Let me reiterate what I said earlier. You are never sure how valuable another person can be to you. Never completely burn your bridges. Even if that someone is as far connected to your field as any human being could be, he would surely know another person that knows another, that knows another that knows another. That’s networking 101 for you, folks.
Go out there. Come on, you’re not going to meet fellow professionals by being passive aggressive. Go out more, mingle, talk to people, and have fun! Doing volunteer work can also help you big time in expanding your networks.
Be unapologetically weird. It’s the only way people will remember you. There are many bright and successful people out there, but only a few are open about their cute eccentricities. Be your usual weird self and people will surely remember you in a positive way.
Be the contact you want to have. Be prepared to help out other people, too. That is actually the best way to gain the favour of your networks. Again a tribute to a certain Haymitch Abernathy: “You have to get people to like you.” Don’t be the douche who just calls when he’s been recently fired. Be the thoughtful one who calls just to say hello.
Take advantage of social media. Stop trolling around the internet and make your online time productive! Social media is a great venue to meet other people in your field especially because it’s so easy to search for people with certain backgrounds and stuff.
Never burn bridges, even if you’re already up the corporate ladder. Be careful not to step on anyone as you go up, for those are the same people you meet if you ever go down. Just always be gracious, and if you get lucky enough, be generous in sharing.
Never lose steam. Word spreads. Be patient, generous, and affectionate to each and every one of your contacts. Make sure they have nothing bad to say about you when referring you to other contacts.
Never forget your virtues. Above anything, you’d want to be remembered as the appreciative one who sends thank you notes even for the smallest of favors. Saying thanks is a small gesture that comes a long way. See, people are more likely to help when they know their help is very much appreciated.
Overall, the underlying principle in building stable relationships for career purposes is to learn to treat others the way you want to be treated. Start with that and your networks will surely grow within a short span of time. Networking can be really fun, so don’t be the drag! Happy networking!