co mplet e it pro f essio nal.co mhttp://www.completeitpro fessional.com/communication/what-is-networking-and-why-should-i-do-it/

What Is Networking and Why Should I Do Itby Ben on October 30, 2011 edit

Networking is a common term in the IT industry. It can have two meanings – theprocess of linking computers and other devices together so they cancommunicate, and the process of meeting and talking to other people to helpyour IT career. This article is about the latter.

What Is Networking?

Networking is the process of meeting people, talking to people and getting toknow them, with a long term aim of helping your career. It ’s done by a lot ofpeople and it ’s good to know what’s involved and why you need to do it.

Why Should I Network?

One of the most popular phrases in the working world (which you’ve probably heard bef ore), is the phrase“it ’s not what you know, it ’s who you know”. This means that knowing and associating with the right peoplecan be more important than what you know or what you do. It aims to remind you of the importance ofpeople skills and networking.

There are many reasons why networking is a good idea:

Keep inf ormed of career opportunit ies in your industry

Learn about ideas and trends in the industry

Meeting new people

Understand more about other areas

Developing your communication and listening skills

If you’re considering a career change, or looking f or new opportunit ies f or a promotion, you should belooking to network whenever and wherever you can. You don’t always get a promotion or change that’s justhanded to you – you need to be able to f ind out where they are and take your own steps to get there.

How Can I Network?

Well, the answer to this is to get out there and talk to people. You can do this at work, at social events, atdif f erent meetings, wherever people in your industry or workplace are together. You don’t even need to bein a group situation – you could be talking to a single person.

Essentially, you make conversation with people and get to know them. It doesn’t always have to be work orbusiness related – it can be a personal conversation. However, you need to know why you’re networkingand why you’re there, in order to have an appropriate conversation.

How Can I Get Better at Networking?

There are a f ew things you can do to be more ef f ective at talking to colleagues. Some of these could be:

Think of the reason you’re meeting people. Is it to f ind out what’s happening in your company? Areyou looking f or any new job of f erings? Or something else? Knowing why you’re there will help yourdiscussions.

Networking is about being mutually benef icial to both people. Realising what you have to of f er is agood thing to do.

Get a business card made f or yourself , if you don’t have one already. It should, at the very least,have your name, email address, and phone number on it.

Practice your “sof t skills”, which include listening, body language, and conversation skills. Thesecome with practice and experience – in a f uture article I’ll write about how you can do this.

Hope this article helps with your networking. What are your thoughts? Post your replies in the area below.

For more IT career t ips and inf ormation on how YOU can improve YOUR IT career, visit Complete ITProf essional!

Image: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net