Networking and Career Development by Linda Allaway - Career Management Consultant, Hudson Human Resource Consulting

1. Networking and Career
Development
Linda Allaway
Career Management Consultant
October 2005

2. Objectives
By the end of this session you will want to remember
these 4 things:
1. Networking is about building and maintaining effective relationships
to open doors
2. Giver’s, not taker’s, gain the most benefits from networking
3. Strong skills, knowledge, attitudes and hard work will ensure career
doors stay open
4. On average, you can expect 3-5 career changes in your working
life, so maintaining employability = career success

3. Networking and Career Development
• We are networking whenever we associate with another
person, although we don’t generally realise it
• Because we often don’t consciously network, we often don’t do
it well
Therefore, in order to be effective in our networking
strategy, we need to be clear in our purpose and actions.
So what is the purpose of networking?

4. Networking and Career Development
What is Networking?
• Effective networking is all about building effective relationships
with people, from which will hopefully flow business
opportunities and referrals
• It is about developing yourself as a centre of excellence or
expertise and building relationships with like-minded people,
bartering your experience for that of others
• It’s a two way street – a reciprocal relationship
• It is a technique to identify & open doors on potential
opportunities

5. Networking and Career Development
Integrity in Networking
Are you a “taker” or a “giver” in your networking
relationships?

6. Networking and Career Development
“Takers” tend to:
• Talk mostly about themselves and what they do
• Ferret out information from people without giving useful
information back (ie., quizmaster or interrogator)
• Erode the relationships till they crumble
“Givers”
• Seek out opportunities to supply other people with information
and referrals that may be of use to them
• Are remembered positively by others
• Strengthen relationships

7. Networking and Career Development
• To gain the most from your networks be a “giver”, therefore
create an impression about you that will:
• Foster trust in you, liking and a willingness to refer you to
others
• Therefore, check that your “packaging” is right
• Consider the impression you are making, both in terms of your
physical presentation and your behaviour

8. Networking and Career Development
Impressive networkers:
• Remember names
• Provide openers so it is easy for others to find things to talk about with
you
• Are good listeners and show genuine interest in what the person has to
say and in what they can do for them
• Look for territory of mutual interest
• Use humour appropriately as an ice-breaker
• Make a point of following up
• Actively seek to pass on things of interest (eg., information, useful
contacts, referrals, guidance, encouragement and other forms of simple
support)

9. Networking and Career Development
Who makes up your network?
Potentially everyone we make a connection with:
• Family
• Friends
• Business associates
• Industry association members
• Customers
• Fellow club/sporting group members
• Community/neighbourhood members
• and so on

10. Networking and Career Development
What’s happening in the employment
market?
• Today’s employees will change careers 3-5 times and
may have many jobs in their lifetime!
• Experience has shown that around 50% of our
candidates (those who have been retrenched) get their
next role through networking.

11. Networking and Career Development
For your career development, this means you will:
• Build upon your existing relationships and develop new ones with
people in your target organisations and industries to gather
knowledge and make yourself known to potential employers
• Select target organisations on a specific criteria:
eg., industry, size ($, staff), types of jobs, location, market
performance, growth potential, leadership, corporate culture
and
it should match your specific career interests, values, career
motivators, and competencies

12. Networking and Career Development
So is networking alone enough?
• Networking is one strategy to help you move between careers
and jobs – the door opener.
• It takes skills, knowledge, personal attributes and effort to be
successful in the role!
• This brings us to the concept of ‘employability’

13. Networking and Career Development
The concept ‘employability’ implies lifelong learning
to:
• refine existing skills
• develop new skills
• acquire new knowledge
•maintain an open and flexible attitude
• take personal responsibility for career management

14. Networking and Career Development
Learning can take on many different forms
• Formal education – TAFE, Uni and private colleges
• Offered in flexible formats to meet busy lifestyles
(eg classroom, work-based, correspondence and online options)
•Work experiences - different roles, companies and
locations
• Life experiences
• Coaching and mentoring support

15. Networking and Career Development
So prepare, plan and act now for your next career move.
The key questions to consider are:
Where am I now?
Where do I want to be?
What do I have to do to get there?
Who can help me?

16. Areas of Specialisation
• Think about your career
interests and life goals
• Make realistic assessment of
skills, knowledge and experience
• Set some S.M.A.R.T goals
(specific, measurable, attainable,
relevant, time-bound)
• Enlist support
• Demonstrate commitment
through your actions
• Check your progress and
refocus
Reflect
Assess
Plan
Resource
Act
Review

17. Networking and Career Development
Therefore
• You need to be prepared to move to next job or next career choice at
short notice. The timing may or may not be of your choosing.
• Maintaining your employability will give you greater flexibility and
confidence when you are forced to or choose to make career
change.
• Remember skills and knowledge take time to develop so be realistic
with your plans

18. Networking and Career Development
Let’s recap – I promised you at least 4 things from today:
• Networking is about building and maintaining effective relationships to
open doors
• Giver’s, not taker’s, gain the most benefits from networking
• Strong skills, knowledge, attitudes and hard work will ensure career doors
stay open
• On average, you can expect 3-5 career changes in your working life, so
maintaining employability = career success
And as a bonus, today is an opportunity to meet some great people and to have fun with
networking.