Focus on the Quality of Your Online Relationships, Not Quantity
For some, “networking” means giving out as many business cards as possible. This might sound rather sloppy and miss the point. Instead, focus on building quality relationships to advance your career.
As networking expert and writer Derek Coburn explains, choosing who to communicate with and how to spend time is key. Willingness to support others in tangible ways – as opposed to waiting for their help – is an investment that can come back to help you later. It is also important to focus your efforts on mutually beneficial people, and not on those who will just suck you off:
Your level of success when it comes to networking and relationship building will depend directly on your ability to interact with other people who take a similar approach. You may appear sincerely willing to contribute, but it will be a waste of time if you associate with those who are focused only on themselves.
So networking is a lot like building your regular personal relationships. Imagine this. The quality of your relationship will depend on which people you choose to focus on and how much effort you put into them. Ideally, over time, you will build a professional network of true friends who care and support each other, not just a group of people who exchange services.
The Most Important Rule of Networking That No One Talks About | Inc.