Why professional networking is important for you?
What are the advantages of being part of sites like LinkedIn? What site features do you think are actually helpful?
A lot of people join sites like this but they don't really know how to take advantage of that in order to actually help their career development, so I think with all your answers we could help people to really take advantage of these tools.
Good Answers (10)
Louis D
Creative Director/President at Listen&Look, experienced communication design and marketing consultant.
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Maricel.
I have always been taught when selling to try to find common ground with potential customer. Haveing a business network in common can be a big help. When I meet people at an in person networking meeting I always invite them to LinkIn about 30% of the time they are members and join my group right away, it is a great way to keep in contact with these people. The Q&A feature has led to me making numerous contacts with great people who also happen to be business people.
Thanks.
Louis.
I'm just hypothesizing here but I believe it gives you the visibility, and allows you to connect to those who you may have lost contact with over time which I think is inevitable. Additionally, there is an opportunity to share with people you may trust things that may interest them since theoretically there should be some commonalities (common careers, former employers, etc).
Just a few cents..
Hi everyone :)
I remembered something that a friend said to me once as part of a joke while in High School, that may help me to answer this question clearly: "The key for success isn't knowing everything there is to know, the key to success is having the phone numbers of those who know parts of it..."
In other words, it's almost impossible to have all the answers to every problem, however, as a professional you have the chance to learn and share with other colleagues... That's the key of success, one straw is easily broken, but many, are strong enough to build a bridge...
Eladio M.
Steve D
President at PerfectJob Software Inc.
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To me, Linked In provides remediation for my networking shortfalls. It gives both parties a low-cost way to reconnect, so I use it to build connections that did not stay strong through conventional means. Steve
Sheilah E
Owner, ★SME Management:.......... Business Management and Accounting Consultant
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Hi Maricel,
The knowledge that is freely shared both on the site and between connections off site is priceless. We can reach out to an almost unlimited number of great minds and share ideas, solve problems and do business.
Most of the actual networking goes on through email and telephone and also IM's. The site is really just a tool to help us connect to others but how we network is up to each of us.
Sheilah
Ajay J
Author, Travel Photographer, Journalist & Blogger - no time for more than this!!
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I have written a white paper on using LinkedIn to benefit professional, it may be useful to you. You can access it at: http://www.techgazing.com/?p=37
Hope it helps...Cheers...
Links:
Tom F
Editorial Director at BankInfoSecurity.com
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Maricel:
To me, the biggest advantage is making international contacts that I otherwise wouldn't make. I appreciate the diverse insights and perspectives, and who knows how these contacts might pay off in the future?
In business and in networking, there's rarely such a thing as incidental contact. Relationships are meaningful.
best,
Tom
Robert F
Podcaster at podcastGenealogy.com
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Being able to help others.
The biggest advantage I have is keeping in contact with people who I know or have worked with. Inevitably, peoples email addresses and contact information changes. If I'm looking for a particular individual, it makes it easy to track them down, even if I haven't talked to them in a while.
Also, linked in has a lot good resources for job and contract searching, which is always helpful.
Relationships are meaningful, in every aspect of life including career management. Networking is the key to discovery of our career selves and you never know, you might just make some friends and continue to find your path.
