501

Networking 501 - Sustaining Professional Relationships

In  Networking 301 and 401 , I repeatedly speak about connecting with individuals yet doing so in a genuine fashion. My rationale is that one does not want to illicit sentiments of exploitation from the person they are networking with. Yet, how can someone authentically keep in touch with their connections over time?

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It's the same concept as establishing the relationship in the first place: find a common point to initiate a discussion! If you connected with the person at your academic institution's reunion party, send them an email the following year, for example, on the date the party was held. This is a neutral topic that can resume discussions.

Plus, with the wealth of information generated by social networking sites you shall be kept in the loop about your contacts' birthdays, likes, hobbies, activities/societies, articles read, comments made, etc. Hence, I am certain that you can find a link between that content and yourself. To illustrate, it may turn out that you have similar likings, or enjoy the same hobbies (be it currently or in the past). Moreover, you may have read materials (books, articles, etc) written by the same author or share parallel opinions on a particular topic. Thus, the possibilities are endless to jump-start a conversion and re-ignite the acquaintance.

The important element is that you keep in touch with your connections on a periodic basis to show that you care and that you acknowledge them. Networking is not like a collection, you do not accumulate an array of contact information for the sake of having lots of business cards. Networking is about first getting to know people and establishing the links that tie you together. Only then can you enlarge your social capital if you feel that you could learn from one another, collaborate together, or contribute to your professional lives in some way. Just like a garden, contact bases can grow but they require some time and effort. If you work at maintaining contact with your network, it will be sustainable and it shall enlarge. On the other hand, if you connect with people only in the beginning (when you initially meet) and forget them afterwards, your network will fall apart and will no longer be valuable.