The Art of Networking

I try to never leave home without a business card. You never know when you will meet someone who will be a contact for another point in time and I always want to be accessible to them. There are several variations of networking that can happen: professional, religious or social. Some of us have networks for YEARS without realizing we have a network at all. It's all about who you know! So what do you do to figure out WHO is in your network? You make a list! (At least that's what I did.) Write down names. From old coworkers, college alums, to the person who does your pedicure, write down every name you can think of. Try out the list below that contains a few different groups of people you may have met along the way -- although they may not always pop up first when you search your mental Rolodex.

• People in your knitting/book club
• People you've met at Mary Kay or other home-shopping parties
• College or high school alums
  
• Other parents from your child's school
  
• People who attend networking events with you
• People at your gym
  
• Vendors you knew at your last or your previous jobs
• Previous customers
  
• Fellow pet lovers from the animal park

I bet once your list is complete you will realize you know more people than you thought you did. Don't be afraid to drop these people a line -- although don't make your first email, call, online message to them a request or favor. Ease into it! Your purpose for the contact and reconnecting shouldn't just be to serve your own end means but to CULTIVATE your network. Ask what you can do for each person, gain some insight into what they can do for you but mostly gain that camaraderie and much-needed fellowship of your peers. The goal will come.

I will be reaching out to several of you to see how we can work together to get to our ultimate goals. Mine is making Cabrini Connections and Tutor/Mentor Connection the most talked-about, positive, enlightening, successful tutor/mentor initiatives in Illinois and beyond. With your help, we will work through some of the best of times: planning events, building relationships, raising funds and moving forward with progression.

Social Networking
Undoubtedly your friends are probably inviting you to join several online communities for social networking opportunities. You may already be on some. Be it MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn or a variety of others. One of my networks just mentioned something called Twitter to me. I've not yet gotten to look into that one! The biggest question you're asking yourself is probably WHY you should have all these places to go. Because I guarantee you... you WILL find somebody on one that you did NOT find on the other one. So, is it worth it?

Care to Reach Tutor/Mentor Connection or Cabrini Connections...
Find our group on Facebook; if you are a member, log in and JOIN it. We will keep you abreast of all the things we have going on, our students and volunteers, and news tickers to keep you informed.

Visit us and add us as a friend on MySpace.

Or simply feel free to link to me via LinkedIn.

** Not on any of these just yet? Read below for a little more about the Top 3 from well-respected Networking Pro, Liz Ryan — Author of Happy About Online Networking and former Fortune 500 VP. **

LinkedIn
Let's start with LinkedIn. This is the 800-lb. gorilla of social networking sites, with over 20 million users. For business-oriented networkers, LinkedIn is a powerful resource, because the focus of the site is enabling business connections. LinkedIn is not the place to find people to start a walking club with, but it's a handy tool for job-seekers, recruiters, and entrepreneurs looking to make fruitful business connections.

The basic LinkedIn membership is free. You can be invited to join the site by a friend or colleague, or you can join up yourself in just a few minutes. All it takes to get started on LinkedIn is a well-written profile that shares your work experience, educational background and other professional credentials. Once your profile is up and running, you'll want to add some Connections on LinkedIn. The easiest way to do that is to download the LinkedIn toolbar (also free) which will show you which of your Outlook, Gmail, or other email contacts are already using the site. With a few keystrokes, you can invite these folks to be your very first connections. One note concerning LinkedIn protocol: even if you're sending invitations to dear friends and close business associates, please write your own customized connect-to-me invitation: don't use the dreadful boilerplate invitation, especially if you're not sure your would-be Connection will immediately recognize your name.

Once you're connected to a network on LinkedIn, you'll find that your network can introduce you to other (un-connected to you) users, and you can likewise make introductions for your friends. LinkedIn's handy Answers section allows members to poll the other LinkedIn users on business and "life" issues, and the LinkedIn Jobs function allows users to post jobs that only their own LinkedIn network members can view.

Facebook
LinkedIn is a must for business-focused social networkers, but Facebook is coming up fast behind it. First launched for college students, Facebook is a social network with a fun personality - one reason the 25-and-under crowd is on board in the millions. Business networkers and older users are joining Facebook for its many useful or fun Applications, tools that allow users to leave another user a note, compare notes with other members ( e.g.: two members' taste in movies) or share photos and videos with other users. It's easy to see why Facebook is appealling: the site is much more interactive, lively and colorful than LinkedIn. Facebook also makes it easy for users to get to one another before offically connecting (on Facebook, the term is "friending") one another.

MySpace
MySpace is the mega-popular social networking site for young people, also growing in popularity with professional users. Not for all tastes and not as user-friendly as Facebook, MySpace is still more of a dating-and-partying destination than a business tool.

More Options
Want to join more networks? Xing, Viadeo, TeeBeeDee, and Gather are more social networks to check out - although it's hard to imagine that most if not all of the businesspeople you'd want to find aren't also using LinkedIn and/or Facebook. Gather is a content-focused site that makes it easy for users to post articles and comment on the writing of others. Xing and Viadeo are profile-and-connection sites competing with LinkedIn, and TeeBeeDee is a social networking site geared to baby boomers - the initials TeeBeeDee stand for "The Boomer Destination."

One more tool for staying connected: Twitter. Twitter is a site that allows users to tell the world (and their own "followers") what they're up to, minute to minute, with the caveat that each update can't use up more than 140 characters. Easy to write and quick to read - and an easy way to stay on top of your network's comings and goings.

Handling Unwelcome Invitations
Will you be beset with unwelcome invitations, if you join these sites? It can happen, but it's not likely. If you receive an unwanted LinkedIn connection invitation, you can click the "I Don't Know This Person" button to ensure that the user won't knock on your virtual door again. Facebook also takes a dim view of users who use the "friending" functionality too freely. On either of these sites, users can report mis-use of the site.

It's a new year - why not jump in?

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