Network Your Way to Your Dream Career: Use These Strategies to Maximize Your Network and Reach Your Professional Goals
Are you a job seeker looking for a way to land your dream career? Do you feel stuck and like you don’t know where to begin? Well, you’re in luck! Building your network is a great place to start. By strategically expanding and leveraging your network, you can open up a sea of job opportunities and be one step closer to achieving your goals.
Identify, Connect With, and Grow Your Network
The foundation of building and leveraging a strong, powerful network is to identify, reach out to and cultivate strong relationships. Here are three specific ways to do this:
1. Seek Out Individuals Who Can Help
Think about the people and companies you would like to target, and then begin to reach out. This could be individuals who have experience in the industry you are interested in, alumni of the universities you are applying to, or even people who are already in the jobs you want.
It can be helpful to use social media and sites such as LinkedIn to connect with people. Make sure to customize and personalize your outreach as much as possible to make a lasting impression.
2. Live-Attend Networking Events
Network events are great for getting exposed to new and fresh ideas, as well as to meet new professionals in your field. Doing a bit of research prior to attending a networking event can be helpful to make the most out of your time. Also, don’t forget that talking to new people can be intimidating, so it’s OK to practice a few wow-moments in advance to impress potentials.
3. Engage In Meaningful Connections
Once you have successfully started to build your network, make sure you maintain those valuable relationships. Put in the effort in creating meaningful conversations with the new people you’ve connected with. Making sure to reinforce your connection with one-on-one meetings, follow-up calls, emails, etc. As you build stronger relationships, they will appreciate it and be more willing to help you out in achieving your goals.
Leverage Your Network
Now that you have created and maintained relationships, it’s time to use them to help you get farther along your career path. Here are a few ideas for doing that:
1. Ask for Advice
When you have cultivated meaningful relationships, asking for advice from your network is a great way to get trusted insight on a specific topic or goal. Don’t be afraid to use your network when considering different options or chasing after a job opportunity.
2. Set Up Informational Interviews
Informational interviews are a great way to practice interviewing and to ask tailored questions that relate to the job you are pursuing. This is also a great chance to learn more about the hiring process and what employers are looking for.
3. Get Intros To Decision Makers
Asking a contact in your network to connect you to with the decision makers of a company you are applying to, can sometimes increase your chances of landing an interview.
Final Thoughts
Remember, networking is a process. It sometimes can take time before you start to see its effectiveness. Don’t give up, and keep putting in the work to build your network and strengthen your relationships. With the right steps and a strong connections, you will be well on your way to scoring the career of your dreams.
We hope these strategies help you in your professional journey.
Good luck!
