The importance of professional networking is increasing as the pace of change in business accelerates and employment is more tentative and short term.  There exist in each community numerous events weekly that offer networking opportunities for professionals.   Sadly, some working professionals will refrain from attending events where there is an expected large turnout of job seekers.  Those in job transition feel obliged to attend as many networking events as they can leaving no stone unturned in the quest for new work, seeking connections that might enable them.  As Woody Allen suggests eighty percent of success is showing up.  There is truth in that, but excelling requires more than merely showing up.

There are two tribes at networking events these days, the working and those looking for it.   Watching from a distance it is sort of a cat and mouse game.  While the job seeker pursues the working for connections, the worker often avoids the job seeker fearing perhaps to catch this unemployment bug and not wanting the hear one more elevator speech and a rambling for assistance and liberation from a victimized state.

So, what is the job seeker to do at such events?  First of all, go disguised as a working professional, don’t carry anything larger than a business card and for gosh sakes, HAVE A CARD and offer it when requested!  Others encourage you to dispense as many as possible.  I think not.  If you want to know how effective you are in your networking, you need a measure of success, like cards requested.  Leave the portfolio-binder-folder home.  You’re not carrying resumes to these events!   When you carry such you may also have a mindset that will short circuit networking success.  You’re likely practicing “needworking” while not working and that’s a far cry from networking. “Needworking” is a natural inclination to share one’s skills, background and accomplishments over many years before learning the name of the person one is speaking to.  It’s a terrible affliction, but natural it seems to be.  You must learn to develop a winning networking mindset.  Tell me more you ask, I hope.

Developing the right mindset for networking is critical to achieving success.  It is especially difficult to do when stressed by unemployment.  The key is that networking is not about Y-O-U.  It never has been and never will be.  It’s about the person you are with in conversation.  It’s got to be about them first.  You must engage as an active listener earning their interest in listening to you and about your career and achievements.  What makes for active listening?  Inquire about what they are sharing with you showing a desire to understand clearly what they are saying.  Address them using their name. Be polite sprinkle in a few “please” (not pleas) thank you’s and compliments too into the conversation.  Repeat back in summary what you’ve learned and by all means ask-them-how-you-can-help-them.  You might be surprised how that pivots the conversation when their response is something like,”I’m not sure.  What do you do?”  That’s your opening in the conversation to share your story.  Remember to return to “how can I help you?”  Networking is about how we help each other.  It’s about building mutually rewarding relationships one conversation at a time.