Getting key connections

ome people find it easy to strike up conversations with strangers and keep track of old colleagues. However, for some, networking is a mysterious, often neglected process. Here are some tips for overcoming common networking hurdles.

How do you establish a network?

"Start an informal network that you formally keep track of early in your career," says Cindy Pogrund, group principal at Chicago-based Metamor Technologies. "Keep track of where people go. Pick up the phone and call them."

Pogrund suggests talking to two people in your company each week who you don't usually talk to, and two outside the company each month.

"The longer you wait to call somebody, the harder it is," Pogrund says.

Try to widen your circle of acquaintances by meeting others in your profession and community.

"Speak to as many people as possible, get as many business cards as you can, and see if you can exchange e-mail," says Sandy Atwell, founder and president of ACS Group, a professional services firm in Mahwah, N.J.

What if you haven't kept up with contacts?

Take it one step at a time. It's never too late to start, although you may have to do some thinking about the best way to approach people who haven't heard from you in a long time. Margie Summerscales, career coach and president of Coaching for Successful Solutions, in Herriman, Utah, says one of her clients is trying to re-establish contact with people he used to know.

"He knows people from years ago and hasn't been good at keeping in touch with them," Summerscales says. "He's setting a goal for himself to contact one person each week."

What do you say when you talk to someone?

Whether you're sending an e-mail or talking, focus on what the other person is interested in.

"When you talk to people, they'll start talking about something -- follow that with them," Summerscales says. "You can either make a suggestion related to what their needs are, or help them in some way. The person will remember that you were able to help them out."

Asking questions is another way to gain information and make a connection.

"People like to talk about how they got where they are and how they would suggest that you do the same," Atwell says.

Copyright
© 1999 InfoWorld Media Group Inc.