MAGAZINE-Marzo-Abril

Article 27
have kept are of people who came to me because they needed
me, were my friends and/or colleagues. All the important
people I had the chance to meet passed by me, and I frozen
with anguish, did not dare to articulate a simple hello. Not
because I did not have an opening line, but because I saw
myself like I saw many others: contact seekers. For a long
time I was appalled at people who just made fast contacts and
got favors. I did not want to be like them, so I just stopped
talking to people I felt could be good for my career. Worse
of all, I refrained from doing what I loved the most: spending
genuine time with people.
Networking is
not about elevator
speeches neither a
mere exchange of
business cards.
Looking back at those years I see that my perception of
networking was the wrong one. Networking is not about
“grabbing” opportunities or milking the cow to exhaustion.
Its not about using people for your own benefit. Networking
is not a one-way- relationship, where one always gives and
the other always takes.
Networking is of course about taking, but also about giving.
Its about selling and buying, and about using the information
you have for your benefit, but also for the benefit of others,
because what you give around, comes around.
What is networking?
For a coach/entrepreneur the purpose of a good network is
much more than a basis for getting new clients. For a student
or a career seeker the purpose of networking is more than
just finding a good job. Networking is built over time and
is a source of many things such as building a career, your
organization, finding useful information and friendships.
Networking is not about elevator speeches neither a mere
exchange of business cards. Networking is about learning,
sharing, taking and giving back. Its about empathy and human
exchange. Its about collecting information and staying in
contact with each other.
Networking is about maintaining and nurturing your network
of contacts and making this your priority. Its not about
getting something out of your network. If lately you have
been lazy, forgetful towards your network, then you need to
start to renew your network with an email, a call, a card,
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