I make no secret about my love of networking for job search and career advancement. I write and teach about networking regularly.
Recently I made an investment in myself! I took a LinkedIn Learning course, Building Business Relationships, presented by Simon T. Bailey.
I’ve been following Simon for a few years now. I appreciate his honest, open point of view towards leadership. He is a nice guy with great ideas trying to make a difference in this complicated world. And I love that!
So, I invested one hour to learn more about how Simon looks at networking. Turns out our views mesh nicely.
Simon Bailey says, “Business relationships are career currency.” He offers tips on how to grow your career by building strong business relationships. I see a direct translation to the skills needed to network effectively, including:
Establish your personal brand. In particular, behave in a way that inspires trust. Trust is the foundation for networking, giving confidence to others that you will be there for them when they need something.
Build relationships with people you meet or work with by impacting others. What you can do to help someone else? Serving others comes back to you in spades when you need help in the future.
Networking is a two-way street. You can’t reach out to “network” only when you need something. That isn’t networking. That is asking for favors without a basis. Networking is reciprocal, built on a relationship of give and take between people who respect one another.
Simon’s concrete suggestions on how to build relationships mesh well with my recommendations. I highly recommend this course for your ongoing personal development. You can only participate in this course if you have LinkedIn Premium. If you don’t have Premium right now, you can try it for free for one month so you can take this or other courses then return to your free LinkedIn platform.
LinkedIn is a wonderful networking platform if we choose to use LinkedIn for more than just a Rolodex for your connections. Reach out to talk to your connections. Start conversations. Ask questions. See how you can help.
By stepping out of your personal bubble, you turn acquaintances into relationships. Helping others feels good and lays the foundation for reciprocity if you ever need something to advance your career or job search.
How are networking? Check out The Interview Doctor’s free LinkedIn training offering great ideas for using LinkedIn to network for your job search.
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