What constitutes Effective Networking?

Networking is probably the most overused buzz word in business today (possibly along with Talent Management), but what exactly defines quality or effective networking, versus just wasting your time?

I was speaking with some college seniors recently and asked them if they would describe themselves as good networkers, and if so, why?

Nearly the entire group answered emphatically that they were indeed very strong and active networkers. This didn’t shock me, but I was a little surprised that the nearly unanimous reason as to why they identified themselves in this way had to do almost entirely with the number of ‘friends’ they had on their Facebook page.

So, is this the measure of an effective networker?

By any business professional’s measure the obvious answer is no, but it brings to the forefront an interesting issue. Many recruiters, as well as a significant number of job seekers, will categorize themselves as diehard networkers, based on raw numbers of contacts.

A better measuring stick might be how many people within their vertical market they have contact with, and how many of those are active network partners. Like any one sided relationship, a situation where one person asks for help and is then ignored by the other  is not a true networking relationship; it’s simply a waste of energy, resource, and time.

True networkers take time to develop relationships with people who can help them. That means if you’re a recruiter in the IT field, you look for ways to connect with IT professionals, whether it’s via social media, industry associations, training seminars, or even over coffee.  Once established, these relationships require periodic attention. This might be a short note congratulating them on a promotion, or a birthday congratulations,  or even just an offer to have coffee every 2-3 months.

I always make a point to ask my network partners if there is anything I can do to help them or perhaps even someone in their family. As a result, I’ve been asked to conduct mock interviews with a lot of recent college graduates and to do career counseling for out of work spouses and family members. You can imagine the response I get from these people when I ask them for help finding a candidate. They can’t do enough to help out.

And that quality, not quantity, is the true measure of any strong networker. With this in mind, ask yourself if you are indeed the strong networker that you can and should be?