Making the most of personal contacts
Networking with personal contacts
Find out the benefits of networking
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Quick guide to Networking
Watch the 'Quick guide to boosting your employability' all about Networking - Login to UDo and click on 'Careers' tab.
Networking - developing and making the most of personal contacts - is one of the most effective ways of getting what you want from work. We can help you learn how to be an effective networker and build your list of personal contacts.
Who are my personal contacts?
- Your extended family.
- The university, school and colleges you have attended.
- Clubs and societies that you've belonged to.
- Places that you have worked.
- Your parents' or partner's networks of friends. Contacts most helpful to you will probably already have some link with you.
- Your friends.
Potential for new contacts might be:
- People you can telephone or speak to face-to-face.
- Professional bodies.
- Attending courses, events, graduate recruitment fairs, careers fairs and events, trade fairs and conferences.
How can personal contacts help?
- They can help you to understand what a job is really like.
- They can help you in preparing to look for work.
- They can give you insight into the activities, culture and history of their company which helps with your research of employers.
- They can let you know which papers and agencies to use for vacancies, ideas of organisations to apply to, and openings within their organisation.
How do I approach my contacts?
- More informal approaches can be made to those you know best.
- Telephone or face to face enquiries usually result in some kind of immediate feedback.
- Written and telephone approaches can be combined. Email a copy of your CV and arrange to phone on a specific day.
