Tips for making the most of your greatest resource: the people you know
Your professional network is one of the most important tools for building a career. It's a great source of advise and guidance when you face a challenge in your current position. And it's invaluable for landing a new one.
A recent
LinkedIn article shows how. Based on a survey of more than 3,000 people, it describes how those already employed but casually open to change found new opportunites through networking rather than applying at a rate of 7 to 1. For those who were actively looking for new placements, networking still edged out applying.
The trick tends to lie in quality over quantity. Networking is not a mad dash to shake as many hands and pocket as many business cards as possible. It's about cultivating relationships. It involves social graces, etiquette, good intentions, common sense and, sometimes, not being stumped by which fork to use first.
To help you in your job today and tomorrow, we bring you our guide to networking, featuring a selection of stories previously published on techlifetoday.ca.