Friday July 04 2008

Benefits of networking

Networking is about developing long-term relationships for mutual gain and creating a lasting impression with people so that they think of you positively when an opportunity arises.
Once learned, networking is a life skill which has many applications. Most commonly, people use networking to develop new business or find a new job. In the context of HR, networking has the following benefits:

Networking internally – raise your profile, source new project opportunities, strengthen relationships with stakeholders and gather information on their HR requirements
Networking externally with HR peers – exchange best practice knowledge, learn new HR methods, source inspiration for an HR issue, benchmark performance or even find a new job
Networking externally with business executives or suppliers – stay abreast of latest business news, do your own head-hunting/talent spotting, find knowledge or contacts to help a colleague

Networking is synonymous with the term ‘working a room’ – however it is NOT about rapidly working your way through huge quantities of people, dishing out business cards in a desperate bid to make a ‘sale’. If you go back to our definition – networking is about mutual gain and it is long term. It takes time to develop a two-way dialogue and truly understand the needs of others and so results do not happen overnight.