3 Essential Reasons Why You Must Network

So what is networking?

We hear a lot about it, but we use a lot of words to describe it: Social Networking, Business Networking, Career Networking, Entrepreneurs Networking, Online Networking, and so on…

Networking could be defined as the action of growing your network of connections with the goal of creating a mutually beneficial community.

Your network is composed of your connections (coworkers, partners, suppliers, customers, friends, family, acquaintances, etc…) that you are willing to selflessly help to achieve success and who are willing to do the same for you.

The keyword here is “selflessly”. A very common mistake when it comes to business networking is to only look for help and not look for how you could be a helping hand.

1. Business Networking

Here you are trying to grow your business. You can do that by looking for new client leads, but it could also be by finding new suppliers, new distributions channels or new partnerships. In that case, the person networking will represent his/her company more than him/herself.

2. Career/HR Networking

Whether you are looking for a new professional challenge, or you are looking for your next team member, you fall under this category. Career Networking might be the most prominent one today, as we all know your network causes a great impact to your career development.

3. Social Networking

Social NetworkingSocial Networking is a very common type of networking, and it could happen even when you don’t think about it. It represents every occasion you have where you can meet new people. What happens next is up to you, as the goal of this networking type is totally personal. Are you trying to find interesting people to exchange ideas about your new hobby? Looking for travel tips for your next destination? That is Social Networking.

Conclusion:

Those are the 3 main types of Business Networking we can identify. Regardless of the category you fall in, the basic principles to succeed when doing Business Networking remain the same.

Originally posted on
smartcasual blog