As a part of your job search strategy, you’ll be using networking to help you connect to people & organisations for not only help and advice but also to make connections to find opportunities. Networking can be done either in person at events or online. A lot of initial networking can be done online by individuals doing a job search. To help you with your online networking, below are some tips of things you should do & should not do.
Do’s
• Be Genuine – Always be yourself in all your interactions. Show your personality & always be honest about yourself!
• Be Respectful of Other’s Time – Keep your messages short & to the point. Long emails/requests can go unread due to time constraints of the other individual’s time!
• Show You Listen – Show you listen to what going on with your network. What’s changed? What’s new? What topic is being discussed? Etc!
• Be Positive – No matter what, always remain positive in all your interactions & show your positive attitude of wanting to reach your goal, wanting to connect with others & wanting to help!
• Be Proactive – Go and find blogs, forums, groups or meet new people to interact with others. Show that you making the effort & always be respectful towards others!
• Make Connections – Go and find people to connect with. See if you got any similar interests & use that as an introduction. Sharing helpful links is another good way to connect!
Don’ts
• Don’t Be Formal – Never be too formal or share private information on social media platforms e.g. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn!
• Don’t Spam/Don’t Over Connect – Be careful that you just don’t annoy people by interacting with them too much or keep asking for replies etc. All it will do is not getting them to help you and could cause you a bad reputation!
• Don’t Use All Caps Locks – Using all caps locks in online communications e.g. Tweets….can be seen as you shouting. No one will like to be shouted at especially if you’re asking for help!
• Don’t Beg – No matter what, don’t come across as desperate. Always show your passion/enthusiasm & offer to help!
• Don’t Be The Same – Try not to give usual remarks to articles, blogs etc. Instead of saying ‘Nice post/article’ be more thoughtful & customise your responses to show how you like it or how it can help etc!
• Don’t Just Add Someone – Ask or send an introduction message before making a connection. It can be rude or inappropriate to just add/try to add individuals to your network. Impression counts, so make a good one and be polite and build & develop new connections!
Do’s
• Be Genuine – Always be yourself in all your interactions. Show your personality & always be honest about yourself!
• Be Respectful of Other’s Time – Keep your messages short & to the point. Long emails/requests can go unread due to time constraints of the other individual’s time!
• Show You Listen – Show you listen to what going on with your network. What’s changed? What’s new? What topic is being discussed? Etc!
• Be Positive – No matter what, always remain positive in all your interactions & show your positive attitude of wanting to reach your goal, wanting to connect with others & wanting to help!
• Be Proactive – Go and find blogs, forums, groups or meet new people to interact with others. Show that you making the effort & always be respectful towards others!
• Make Connections – Go and find people to connect with. See if you got any similar interests & use that as an introduction. Sharing helpful links is another good way to connect!
Don’ts
• Don’t Be Formal – Never be too formal or share private information on social media platforms e.g. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn!
• Don’t Spam/Don’t Over Connect – Be careful that you just don’t annoy people by interacting with them too much or keep asking for replies etc. All it will do is not getting them to help you and could cause you a bad reputation!
• Don’t Use All Caps Locks – Using all caps locks in online communications e.g. Tweets….can be seen as you shouting. No one will like to be shouted at especially if you’re asking for help!
• Don’t Beg – No matter what, don’t come across as desperate. Always show your passion/enthusiasm & offer to help!
• Don’t Be The Same – Try not to give usual remarks to articles, blogs etc. Instead of saying ‘Nice post/article’ be more thoughtful & customise your responses to show how you like it or how it can help etc!
• Don’t Just Add Someone – Ask or send an introduction message before making a connection. It can be rude or inappropriate to just add/try to add individuals to your network. Impression counts, so make a good one and be polite and build & develop new connections!