You probably have heard many people tell you that you should focus on getting to now a whole lot of people and increase your network of professionals if you really want to flourish in your career.

This is true.

However, you should also understand that as you are getting to network with people, you should also focus on adding value to their lives as much as they add to yours.

It does not follow that you should call someone you just exchanged contacts with at a conference, and start asking the person to offer you a job in his/her company right away. The likelihood that the person will block you on social media and reject your calls going forward, is very high. And would you blame him/her? You shouldn’t. Nobody likes the idea of being used.

It follows that you should develop some level of communication first and make it clear that you want it to a symbiotic network instead of a parasitic one with only you benefitting!

Take a situation for instance when you network and gain access to a top-level executive in your industry and s/he organizes a quarterly seminar on subject themes in your industry, you can call the person and commend him/her on the seminar series, which you have been watching online and share how some lessons benefitted you in your career growth.

This executive is likely to take your call the next time you attempt to keep in touch. S/he could even reach out to you to personally invite you to the next seminar and would want to engage you in relevant conversations. S/he could even go further and ask you to help him/her complete a certain task and a relationship can develop from there.

It is far easier to ask a career favor from someone who knows your name and recognizes you on a personal level than it is to ask the same favor from a person who has so many acquaintances and is not able to distinguish one from the other.

This article first appeared here; https://lingoafrica.com/what-is-the-proper-way-to-network/

Have a great new week!

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