Networking is a journey. It takes time. It takes energy. It takes work.
When networking first officially appeared on my job description I was a bit intimidated. I mean the thought that I HAD to go out there and network, attend networking events and meet people, certainly made me rethink my approach to these activities. After much nail biting and literally pushing myself out there I realized a very important thing. I was already very actively networking and had been for years, I just didn't necessarily use the term networking for what I did. I now think back at how networking had not only helped me find employment when moving from Denver to Tucson, but as I moved around the country in previous years, I used networking to help me find the resources that I was in search of for both business and personal. Networking is a much better way to find a reputable resources for a product and service than many of the traditional ways that we research for a service or the impersonal way that many of us research for services we need today. They all have their purpose, but I want, demand and need that personal touch. I want a relationship.
I then took all those past networking experiences and continually fine tune or build upon them. I had to find what group or groups that worked best for me. One person cannot attend every event and belong to every group. That is why first pick the group(s) and event(s) that work and then rely on some powerful partnership that I have created whereby we work as a team. These partnerships also need communication to share information and build those relationship. Networking takes time and work, but the rewards pay off.
