Knowing people and building networks is always life-changing whether you want to change careers or climb the career ladder. Now, it is not always what you know; whom you know matters too.
Networking establishes, builds, and nurtures long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with people you meet in and out of your workplace.
You can build networks anywhere and anytime. The aim is to meet professionals and share and exchange ideas as you grow your career network.
Those who think that networking is a one-time thing are wrong.
It is primarily a long game or even a lifetime game of building trust from different connections in our lives.No quick fixes!
When I think of networking and building trust, I imagine a building. The steps followed when putting up a building; for instance, you need to draw the structure, lay the foundation, and start putting up the bricks one by one until the house is complete.
With networking, time is taken to build trust, and after that, people connect even more and finally work together. You build trust not in your language but that of your networks.
If you ask many business people, they will tell you that nothing gets done in business without networks. Someone once said that the most successful people are the most connected.
As some of us may have short-term connections with people, it is essential to have consistent networks. Sometimes, this may have little results, but it yields lifetime success with time.
Here is why networking is considered a long-term game;
One connection today could lead you to someone else in the future
Building a particular network may yield fruits in a few years to come. e.g., one contact could bring your future potential clients.
Networking is considered a relationship and not a transaction
It’s a help me help you situation where you not only need help but offer help to others too. It has no space for selfish agendas. If you see networks that only work for others but yourself, then it is good to check in carefully with them.
Life is a long game
It would help if you didn’t network only to fix short-term problems. Nurture networks into something that will help you in the future because you never know when you will need them.
The goal of networking isn’t to maximize profits or rip off the best we can from others
Some networks also translate into meaningful friendships where people have mutual respect and rapport and nurtured friendships too. It doesn’t harm to combine business and leisure, but again you have to be careful whom you let in too close.
There are always one or two things to learn from one another, and good networks encourage knowledge sharing. Remember, learning is constant too.
Through these professional connections, we could help one another in times of uncertainty by being there for others when it’s their turn.
The job you hold, the experiences you gain along the way, and the growth and success you achieve could be means to learn and get feedback from experienced people.
Although these are some of the reasons why networking is a lifetime thing, some principles, and virtues surrounding it may be fundamental, especially if you are aiming to make long-term connections for the future.
