2007: The Year Of Your Network

My brother recently shared his new year's resolution. I thought it was a good one: to reconnect with the people he's drifted away from.

In fact, this would be a good resolution for anyone. It's one with significant career implications. As I've observed before, networking is like the spare tire in your trunk — if you wait until you really need it to take care of it and make sure it's in good shape, it's too late.

Consider: a well-cultivated network is the best safety net you can have, if you ever face unexpected job loss. It's also great for anyone who's simply open to considering any good career opportunities that come along at any time — if you work your network the right way, it can be a hugely effectively PR tool, your own personal field team. ("You need a good inside salesman? I know someone who is the best!")

If this sounds like a good resolution, I'd urge you to approach it in two ways. First, who are the people in your network you should focus on the most? Two criteria will help you identify these people: who is most likely to be able to open the doors you'd like opened for you? And, who is best positioned to act as a good professional and/or personal reference? Focus your efforts on these key people.

The second approach directly contradicts this first piece of advice (I prefer to think of it as complementary). The quality of the best people in your network (and the quality of your relationship with them) is not as important as the breadth of your network, and arguably it is the people on the fringe who matter the most!

Refreshing your network can be a daunting task, especially if you have allowed it to lapse. For example, you can only come up with 5 people you consider part of your professional network. Or (worse yet) you come up with 40 names, but you don't know how to get in touch with 20 of them, and you realize you've neglected the other 20.

There are several things you may want to focus your efforts on. One, keeping track of who is in your network and ensuring their contact information is up to date. Two, scheduling and automating contact with those people (to generate goodwill, and to ensure they know what you're up to). And three, to figure out ways to effectively leverage them in case of a job hunt.

You could do all of this manually. A spreadsheet could help.

Or, you can tap into a resource designed specifically for managing your network. I'm a big fan of JibberJobber, but I won't belabor this point: managing your network is too complicated and too important to neglect or approach casually.

So, here's my final tip for the year. Make 2007 the year you take control of your professional network, and restore it to working order. Approached methodically, this can be a manageable task, and it could be the most important thing you do for your career in the new year.

Comments

[JibberJobber Guy]

George, excellent way to end 2006 - excellent way to ring in 2007. Reconnecting with people we've drifted away from should be a focus for all of us, for career management, enhanced business relationships and just life fulfillment.

And, I'm a big fan of JibberJobber also ;)