Simple Ways to Nurture Your Network So It Will Be There When You Need It

Everybody knows that networking is the key to getting a job, but most people will tell you they don’t have any contacts that can help them. And, when they think of networking they picture trading business cards at awkward business mixers. The truth is that most of Networking is about taking a genuine interest in other people and thinking about how you can help them. Spend 80% of your networking efforts showing people that you care about their success and they will be there for you when you need help with your job search the rest of the time. The good news is that there are a lot of quick and simple ways to do this that don’t take a huge investment of time.

Forward Relevant Articles And Other Information They Can Use

Whenever you come across a great article with subject matter relevant to somebody in your network go ahead and forward it to them. It will only take you a few seconds to forward something you were reading anyway, but your friends and colleagues will appreciate knowing that you thought of them.

Congratulate People on Their Successes

LinkedIn will let you know when somebody in your network gets a new job or a new promotion. Check your feed each day so that you can reach out with a personal message of congratulations. Create calendar entries for people’s birthdays so that you can send an ecard or a happy birthday email. These things take a moment for you, but they’ll keep your network growing and strong.

Set An E-Mail Alert For Jobs That They Are Looking For In Addition To Yours

If you already have some job alerts running, you can add a few for your key contacts who you know are also looking. That way you can forward them a position that you think may interest them, and if you know of somebody who can connect them to the employer, that’s even better. This is a very high-touch and high-impact way to show somebody you care, but it can pay off over time. If nothing else, once they get a job, they may find out about a position in the new company that is right for you, and you will certainly be the first person they contact about it.

Refer People To Tools and Resources That Have Worked for You

Whether you have found online tools that help you in your job search or a service like AppleOne, let your contacts now about it. If you get a chance to refer them to something that will help them, do it. You can start now by referring your friends to AppleOne.