Gennem de sidste mange foredrag jeg har været ude og holde, har jeg helt konsekvent bemærket en reaktion, på en af grundprincipperne i vores foredrag Synliggør Dine Kompetencer.

Vores holdning er: At man ikke udelukkende kan networke online. Man bliver nød til at møde mennesker i virkeligheden før det har en reel værdi.

Reaktionen er: At langt størstedelen af deltagerne i vores foredrag, ikke lyst til at networke selvom de godt kan se det måske ville være gavnligt for karrieren. Det er OK og mere trygt at blogge og oprette profiler, og det må være bedre end ingenting…

Desværre er jeg ikke enig, for selvom man er synlig på nettet, så vil man på et eller andet tidspunkt skulle ud og møde den branche man vil arbejde i og menneskerne den indeholder. Er det så ikke en god ide at have øvet sig lidt på det også?

Når jeg så har spurgt lidt ind til hvorfor de syntes det er så farligt, får jeg forskellige svar i retningen af:

- Det er grænseoverskridende

- Jeg er jo kun studerende, den slags er for forretningsfolk

- Jeg er ikke den type person, jeg går ikke op til en jeg ikke kender og prøve at starte en samtale

Det vil sige de har på forhånd en forestilling om at det bliver pinligt, ubehageligt og måske endda kan være farligt fordi de kommer til at sige noget forkert. Det kan jo så kun undre mig hvordan så mange mennesker er kommet i gang med det og ligefrem syntes at det er sjovt… er der en særlig gruppe mennesker der måske taler et hemmeligt sprog? eller måske har en form for medfødte overnaturlige evner der gør dem i stand til at Networke?

Jeg er ked af at skuffe alle jer med fordommene.

Der er ikke noget “secret handshake” eller nogen pille man kan spise for at blive en bedre netværker.

Det handler faktisk bare om at komme i gange med det, på den måde man selv syntes er sjov eller konfortabel. For selv om der er mange gode råd, så findes der ikke en “rigtig” måde at networke på.

Det handler jo bare om at møde nye mennesker… i skulle ta’ og prøve det, det er slet ikke så farligt : )

Når vi søger nye folk i Habro & Finansgruppen, bruger jeg altid Linkedin, før jeg slår stillingerne op et andet sted. Det, tror jeg, der er mange, der gør.

Derfor skal du have lært at bruge Linkedin Signal, hvis du vil forrest i køen.

Når jeg går på Linkedin Signal og søger på “kandidat”, får jeg – bare på den første side:

.NET-udvikler, Sharepoint Solution Architect, Business Intelligence analytiker, Webmaster hos Microsoft, Mijø- og kvalitetsingeniør, Projektleder.

Jeg kunne også søge på “job”, “regnskab”, “chef”, “leder” – ja, det er vel egentlig kun fantasien, der sætter grænser. Så er jeg helt sikker på, at jeg ville finde i hvert fald et par interessante stillinger, hvor jeg kunne komme først i køen.

Så hvis du er jobsøgende, er det måske en god ide i hvert fald én dag om ugen at bruge dine daglige 10 minutter (som du kan læse om i: Fundet!) på Linkedin Signal.

Sådan gør du:

• Gå på Linkedin
• Find “News” i højre hjørne og tryk på “Signal”
• Brug søgeboksen til at lave dine søgninger
• Brug check boxene til at sikre, at du søger der, hvor du rent faktisk gerne vil arbejde

Og find en masse jobs.

Bonusinfo: Der er en ekstra fordel ved at finde jobbet på denne måde. Du får nemlig samtidig at vide, hvordan du og dit netværk kender virksomheden. Det kan være, at der er en personlig indgang.

When we speak about online presence at colleges and universities we are often asked for tips on networking. A lot of students assume that they are in no position to build a great network. They do not yet have a job; they do not yet have clients and co-workers. In other words; there is no one to connect with on Linkedin.

There is.

Networking is not something you do at special networking events. It is something you do all the time – and students are great at it.

Here are my tips on networking:

1) Network unstrategicallySome networking specialists will tell you to network with people who can make you reach your goals. If you want to work with Microsoft, network with people who can make that happen.
I favor an unstrategic approach to networking. Because:

- You do not really know what your goals will be. When I was in college I was absolutely sure I wanted to become a lawyer. A couple of years later I got my first real job (through my network) as a PR consultant. Spending all my time networking with dull lawyers would never have brought me that opportunity,

- You never know who will lead you somewhere great. When I first met Bastian (my colleague here at Your Online Presence) he – to me – was a graphic designer. I knew a lot of those and they have never really brought me anywhere. Bastian did.

- You cannot fake interest. Networking is give and take. If you meet somebody important that you really do not like. And that happens. Do not attempt to network with him. It is not good for you – or him for that matter.

When you network unstrategically, every single person you talk to is a potential part of your network. Even students talk to people.

2) Be interested in people
Networking is not developing a long list of contacts and using them to your advantage. It might sound a bit Buddhist, but in networking you really get what you give. When you meet new people your first thought should be; “how can I help her?” not; “how can she help me?”

Apart from the fact that you will feel great when you help others, helping will make sure you are remembered. It does not have to be saving life kind of help. Finding an article that helps your counterpart solve a problem will often do the trick.

3) Have a system
Unstrategic is not unsystematic. You should have a system to keep track of your network. I use Linkedin and Outlook. Just a name and a way to get in touch.

4) Stay in touch
Make a habit of flipping through your system of networking contacts every once in a while. That will inspire you to get in touch with some of them. Maybe you have seen an article that one of your connections would be interested in, maybe you should have coffee with somebody or maybe two of your connections would be interested in meeting.

Read more about networking in our free e-book: Found

Linkedin Skills is a new tool from Linkedin you should try out. It is pretty simple. You type a skill, search, and Linkedin returns:

• Key professionals
• Companies
• Jobs and
• Groups

All within the field. This is a great opportunity to learn more about whom to connect with, which groups to join and companies to look out for.

As far as I can tell, the tool works best if you are either American or globally oriented. I hope Linkedin will consider a location filter.

Anyway, spend some time during your 10 minutes (read about those 10 minutes in our free e-book) tomorrow playing around with Linkedin Skills.

Please tell us how you met the last person you connected with on Linkedin. Leave your story in the comments.

Often people ask us: “How do you create a great network on linkedin?” I know that the quick answer to that question is: “Connect with the people you meet.” However, many need some inspiration to building network.

That got me thinking. If we all told each other how we met the last person we connected with on Linkedin we end up with a lot of great ideas for people to get out their and network. I’ll go ahead – please leave your story in the comments.

My latest connection is a guy I met some years ago at a conference in Thailand. I was their because the PR company I worked with had just been admitted as a member to an international network of independent PR companies. Gary was a long-time member, and as I remember it he provided us with the ins and outs of the organisation over a couple of beers in the bar of the Peninsula hotel. I invited him to join my Linkedin network shortly after we returned home – but it took a couple of years for him to get back on that :-)

I also asked a few friends when I prepared for this. Here are their insights.

Tatiana: The last on I have known for a couple of years. We often met at past time activities that our kids took part in. Recently, I noticed that she had a Linkedin profil – and we connected.”

Maria (who just changed jobs): “The last couple of people I connected with are people at my new job. However, before that I often attended courses. They give out lists with contact information of participants and I got into the habit of selectively reaching out to the ones I had spoken to and found to be interesting.”

Please leave your story in the comments.

Connecting with others on Linkedin should be part of your 10-minutes a day routine. If you do not have a 10-minutes a day routine, find out what it is in our free e-book: Found!