What not to do when you are networking

More and more people are realizing that most jobs come from word of mouth rather than generalized advertising. In light of this fact, most people would agree that building your network is an important career move. But not all networking is constructive- here are a few common mistakes that people make:

Mistake # 1.Thinking that networking is all about data collection. It doesn't really matter if you can remember what someone's long deceased dog's name was, if you fail to make a real connection with them. Networking is about relationships, and you can't build the relationship simply by collecting facts; you must make efforts to deepen the relationship just as you would with a friend or a romantic partner. Which leads me to mistake #2...

Mistake #2. Thinking that peer to peer networking is nothing like dating. In fact, you do have to use a few dating techniques. For instance, what sort of environment are you most comfortable in? Perhaps you would rather use match.com than go barhopping. If going online is more your style, you might want to skip the big convention in lieu of using an online directory, such as Madison's Who's Who.

Mistake #3. Thinking that if you are shy you will be unable to network with your peers effectively. Many people are shy, and oftentimes it is because they feel overwhelmed in a social situation with a lot of interactions happening simultaneously. If this sounds familiar, you might have more success arranging networking meetings in a more intimate setting. You can always utilize your peer to peer network to set up smaller face to face meetings.