Building a Network of Professional colleagues, associates and friends can help to make your working life a whole lot easier, especially if you’re looking for work. Creating that web of interconnected people means that you can branch out to anyone and get advice about your industry, the industry you’re about to break into and possible future job openings and positions that could become available.

Letting yourself become a part of the professional networking sphere can help you in the short term as well as the long term. Your network should help you stay up-to-date with what’s going on in the industry and in general help each other to become better working professionals. It’s a give and take system that works if you’re willing to put the effort in.

LinkedIn
The easiest way to start is to get on LinkedIn. Here you’ll be able to connect with a myriad of different people and other working professionals in similar lines of work as yourself. You’ll be able to see what they’re doing and where they’ve come from.

It’s important to fill out your profile as much as possible so as to make sure you’ve got the best chances of connecting with likeminded people.

Get Out and Meet People
With the internet these days it can make meeting new people very easy, but it’s also important to go out and meet people face to face, the old fashioned way. These interactions make for a much more memorable experience for both parties involved and can sometimes be far more effective than the online version.

When meeting with people, don’t jump straight into your sales pitch. Doing this can scare people off quite easily and make them uninterested in you. Instead, try to connect with them on a personal level. Ask questions about themselves and once you know what they do, you can start making a professional connection. People will also be more likely to want to network with you if you offer them something in return. Organising a meeting with someone they’ve been dying to meet or helping them out with something they’ve been struggling with can create a stronger bond than if you simply asked for their contact information.

Building your network far and wide will continue to help your professional life. It’s something that will also grow with your work experience, so don’t expect it to sky rocket as soon as you start. Once you start making a name for yourself in your industry it can become quite a bit easier and your network will help you along the way.