Developing Your Professional Network

We know personal relationships with friends and family are of utmost importance, but are you underestimating the power of your professional relationships? What are you doing to cultivate and maintain them? It turns out that in the professional world, having connections certainly does help in more ways than one. Developing and maintaining a healthy professional network can effectively:

• Enhance your interpersonal skills
• Help you gain essential industry knowledge
• Provide various avenues of career support and advice
• Lead to future job or professional development opportunities
• Foster relationships that may be beneficial to your career

Believe it or not, you might make a friend or two! Whether you’re a recent grad, young professional or current student, you can foster your network by following these actionable steps:

Use LinkedIn (like, really use it!)

Simply adding folks isn’t enough; actively engaging with new connections is key to nurturing authentic professional relationships online. Read an interesting article related to your field? Share it! Interested in learning new opinions and points of view related to certain subject? Ask away! Your connections will be impressed with your genuine enthusiasm and willingness to get out of your comfort zone and will likely join the conversation.

Scan your inner circle for opportunities—then expand.

Start building your professional network by utilizing your personal circle first! Friends and family, old classmates and coworkers—make an effort to become acquainted with their interests and goals and establish a friendly rapport, no matter their professional field. Once you have a relationship established, don’t hesitate to ask for introductions. Former supervisors, professors and counselors are amazing connections post-graduation as well; keep the lines of communication open as you progress in your education and begin your career!