PROFESSIONAL NETWORKING
Professional Networking is when you build a relationship with other professionals both in your career field and in various other related fields. It is all about meeting and forming beneficial connections with people, clients, vendors, corporate heads, and other people who help boost your professional portfolio.
Developing a new business takes a lot of brainstorming and adequate resources backed by capital availability, but another important content for the successful operation of it is by developing proper professional networking as per the need felt.
Why is Professional Networking important?
If you are wondering this, let me phrase it in a layman term. Developing a professional network helps a business entity open itself to various business opportunities as it gives one an opportunity to meet prospective clients, get a head start about the competitive market, gain better access to client need assessments. Networking when done well, not only gives you a competitive edge during your career stage but will also help you land a better job faster.
How can Networking relate to career success?
Well, networking involves using personal, professional, academic contacts to assist with job search and achieve career goals. It helps broaden your knowledge about the specific field, learn more about the required content. It is an effective way to hear about the available vacancies or requirements in the leading companies.
Major elements of Networking.
Networking does not only means keeping a tab on how many people one knows, or how many favors one can make when needed. It rather is a strategy that helps build alliances for the success of an individual. These are the basic elements for successful networking:
1. Internal Networking:
This comprehends all of the relationships and connections that are logistically essential for the efficient operation of the business. Knowing your co-workers, being aware of the job description, and maintaining a cordial relationship with everyone might come in handy for consistently reaching your goal. This may help an individual inside the firm boundaries but will never lead to expansion or growth outside the firm.
2. Personal Networking:
This pushes one to go beyond their comfort zone and reach people outside their daily circle. It involves engaging in activities and events through professional organizations, gatherings, and other social circles in order to create a new point of contact. It is a link created out of personal preference, where one sets outwards to meet others who can help them in unique and unforeseen ways.
3. External Networking:
Many people tend to do well after strengthening their personal networking but the room for improvement involves recognizing long-term priorities and the greatest challenges that a business faces, with the help of external support. This support may come from shareholders, or by analyzing the political situation in order to better understand the forces that may affect the present or future performance.
(Source: eugenechrinian.com)
Professional Networking Sites to boost your career
Professional networking sites are built up with the people who connect with your professional engagements, resemble in terms of skills, and are from similar work backgrounds. There are hundreds of Professional Networking sites on the web that will help you boost your network around the globe. There are few amongst them that are mostly preferred by people and hence ranked as the best sites. Let’s learn a bit about these famous sites:
1. Linked In
Linked In is the world’s largest professional network since 2003. It is available in more than 20 languages all over the world and is user-friendly. It allows the users to connect with people with similar interests and its unique algorithm helps users explore the brands and find new opportunities by connecting to companies and hiring agencies. It holds 25th position in Alexa Global Ranking and 12th Position in the US.
2. Udyomitra
Renowned as one of the world’s best global professional networks, it is a free platform for professionals and employers. With the vision of wiping out unemployment, within a short period it became a healthy competitor to Linked In. It generates quality-filled resumes and provides a better profile filtering to the professionals according to their preferred interest. It is designed such that it can avail the opportunity to the professionals according to their preferred locations and qualifications.
3. Meetup
It is one of the prominent professional network platforms which helps people with similar interests connect to each other. It bears a simple idea that we are at our best when we gather for things that matters to us, allowing people to create groups and to share their thoughts to enhance their professional careers. It charges an amount of us$9.99 per month for their basic plan which includes 4 organizers with a maximum of 50 Members.
The few other useful professional sites are:
Xing.
Angel List.
Twitter.
Quora.
Slack.
Business Insiders.
Careeralism.
One can possess all the necessary set of skills to excel in their career but without a proper channel of networking the chances of growth for that person is very low. Especially, when you are competing in the global market, the potential competitors are at hundreds and thousands in number, in order to stand out amongst those you need to have a strong professional network to back you up.
Also, read how to write a good CV?
Conclusion
There are various commercial websites that allow you to reach out to the desired professional help. There is abundant availability of skills development materials on the internet that one can browse from or use while dealing with clients. You can excel in your career only by connecting to people who share similar professional interests and are glad to help you develop a better and unique set of skills and introduce you to leading organizations and commercial developments. So, start connecting with people, doesn’t matter whether you chose to do so physically or virtually, through personal contact, or through virtual contact, as long as you approach the right people, reach out to desired experts, and is specific regarding your career choices, you are good to go.
Also, read Guideline for an interview
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