What is Strategic Networking?

My last post was on sharing your network, which is key to getting your network to share with you. Next we will talk about Strategic Networking.

What the heck is strategic networking?  It is networking with a defined goal and a strategy to get to that goal. Let’s look at some examples:

• You are unemployed and you are looking for a job.  Your goal might be to get to know the recruiter who handles positions for a company or the hiring manager for current and future positions.
• You are employed but want out of your current company. You probably have the same goal as the unemployed job seeker BUT you may have a different strategy because you do not want your current employer to know.
• You are looking into a career change.  Your want to meet professionals in the field that you wish to switch into, with a goal to decide on a new career path.
• You want to move up or laterally in your current company. Your goal might be to meet and build relationships outside of your current management chain.

The goal in all of these examples is to build key and strategic relationships with people who can help you to obtain that next professional position.

My guess is very few of you have ever done this purposely. Have you ever gotten a new job because someone recommended you?

My next set of posts will cover in detail how to create a plan for each of these examples.

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Marc Miller on Strategic Networking