Everyone says (and it IS true my fellow international -aholics) that 80% of the jobs don’t get advertised – well, networking is the way to grab one of these opportunities – and it might be just round the corner – literally!
And you might be already spending the majority of your time networking!! Yes, you are networking when:
· Attend professional or trade association meetings
· Volunteer for a community event
· Talk to your neighbours
· Strike up a conversation with someone else waiting at the doctor
· Post messages on mailing lists, blogs or twitter
· Talk to sales persons who are visiting your office
So, do you believe now that the next opportunity and your dream job can be really round the corner?
If you google “networking” you will find millions of tips on how to do it effectively – hence just thought to share with you what networking is NOT … and it is very simple …
- First of all: Networking is NOT begging for a job! Not sure I was loud enough, let me repeat it again: Networking is NOT BEGGING FOR A JOB.
- And … Networking isn't a process of making cold-calls to people you don't know – you are NOT selling the product called YOU!
Networking is all about creating a two ways process (yes, two ways!) where you talk to people you do know or ask them to introduce you to others … and vice versa … you put people in contact when you think they might benefit from knowing each other!
And especially for us, international-aholics, networking gets even more important – you want to network to find your next international opportunity but you also want to network to gather as much information as possible about a specific organisation, city or country …
So, be yourself and start networking (or keep on networking actually!) and you will have to tell me about that “round the corner” opportunity you will encounter!
Have fun!
Giulia
