Friendship , Help and Discussions ...nothing more in networking

“It's the oldest, corniest piece of advice in the world but it still works. The strongest networks are built on friendship. Be a friend not only to the people in your network, but to the people who matter the most to the people in your network.” -- Harvey Mackay, Businessman and Author

The above says it all .

Networking is not about being selfish or opportunity sensing . The power of letting go and going all out to help others greatly helps in this effort .

Briefly for corporate starters there are three areas that could be tapped in growing one's network .

1.Remember your friends who were involved with you during your student life - schools , college and post graduate friends . You can become members of a yahoo group or set up one which helps the communication process immensely. A FB group has its limitations as one might feel shy and refrain from being too overt as the groups may not be closed always. Always back up the yahoo group effort with brick and mortar parties to tie it up and offer unconditional help whenever the opportunity arises .

2.While onto your professional career , build networks with ex-employees , all your colleagues in previous jobs , suppliers and their contacts as well as channel partners .It will be an enormous exercise and you will be surprised at the potential this one can offer . Keeping track of the databases here is a major challenge and a simple excel sheet with contacts in different sheets can help you keep track of developments there

3.Taking the opportunity of providing community support in your neighborhood would also help you create a plethora of well wishers and friends. Festival time ,carnivals , blood donation camps , educational seminars can be arranged in your locality to create the necessary awareness and unconditional opportunity for you to showcase simple initiatives .

At the end of the day networking is nothing more than doing unto others , as you would like others to do to you