No matter what you do for a living – and especially if you’re not currently doing anything for a living, because you’re looking for a job – networking is crucial to your success. The more people you know (and maintain relationships with), the more likely you are to receive the 3 Rs: Recommended, Referred or Requested.
As we’ve discussed before, ‘networking’ doesn’t just mean ‘people in your industry, role, or profession. Your personal network, including friends and family, can also be a powerful network – after all, your friends and family are more invested in your career success than that VP Finance you met last week at a conference.
However, if you’re the sort of person who keeps their ‘personal’ and ‘professional’ lives separate – in other words, if you don’t believe in talking about work when out at a pub with your friends – you may not have realized that your friends have more to offer your career than just the 3 Rs. They may have all kinds of job-related skills, knowledge and insights that would be relevant to your professional development, but which simply don’t come up around the dinner table.