Professional Networking - The game has changed

Recently, I gave a talk on Career Management to TexasMBA students as a part of Executive Speaker Series at the McCombs School of Business, The University of Texas at Austin. My Presentation can be found at http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=dppnrzq_64hrzwf7fh

This week, I noticed I crossed 200 connections on Linked-in (http://www.linkedin.com/). I started this journey accepting an invitation from Tiffany Glass (http://www.linkedin.com/profile?viewProfile=&key=516663&authToken=KiYZ&authType=name) around 2004 and have been pretty selective about who I network with. This to me is a major milestone.

This milestone, coupled with current economic climate and the recent levels of activity in networking events, it is pretty clear to me - The game as we know how to look for the next career challenge has totally changed. My Take:

1. If you are not change agent then you are being changed. So, ask yourself - are you changing or are you trying avoid it. No one else but you can answer the question for yourself.


2. Networking is not about joining Linked-in or any professional networking site, it is all about presence and having a networking strategy. Ask the hard questions : Who is in your network and How do they fit in? When was the last time you actually had a meaningful conversation with some one on your network who is not a part of your daily work life or personal life?


3. Networking is not about quantity, it is about quality of your network. In a rush to network, do not try to grow/expand at the expense of quality. At the end of the day, Garbage in equates to Garbage out. So, if most of folks in your network are ones you have never spoken to in your life or have nothing in common or are just family and friends or are not aligned to your goals then question the value of your network or you may not achieve the benefits you were hoping for?
4. You need to spend time with it, just like you do with work, family and favorite past time. Professional networking should become a part of your life not just something you do because of a particular event or treat it as a one time event.

My Conclusion: Effective networking should result in you being Seeked not you Seeking Something, whether it is a Job or Assignment.

I want the thank Bill Fleming from McCombs Career Services for making me think about this subject and present to the students of 2010; Tiffany Glass, who introduced me to professional networking when the game was still changing; and folks in my Network, whose relationship I value.

Thanks

Nagesh

Note: The views represented in this blog are my personal views and are not a reflection of or opinions of any of the institutions I am associated with or have worked for.