Using your network to get ahead no longer is optional. With a rapidly changing business environment, less understanding of military service by corporate America, and the increasingly transactional nature of employment, each of us needs to take time to build, nurture, and leverage our personal and professional networks. We are luckier than most - there are millions of fellow service members and veterans waiting to help. And, thanks to the Internet, staying connected and in touch never has been easier.
Your "networked" colleagues get more than just annual holiday cards - they likely are the first to know about job openings, know who to call to get something done, and have heard the latest on a variety of topics. They are the ones who get requested "by name" from detailers. They are able to walk into commands and companies and establish personal relationships quickly and with ease. Frankly, they have a leg up on almost everyone else. Sure, it can be overdone - but with a bit of subtlety, a well-manicured network can make all the difference.
Good networking is not a one-time activity; it is about staying in touch, providing value to your contacts, and giving back. The sincerity of your relationships matter - no one wants to hear from you only when you need something. If you start networking in conjunction with your job search, you already are behind the power curve. The best networkers do not see networking as a short cut to a job - they thrive on connecting with people, helping others, and staying in touch throughout their lives.
The four components to a good network are size (how many people are in your contact database?), visibility (can you find the right person who can help you?), access (do you have an easy way of contacting them?), and relationship (do they care enough to help you?).
The most powerful and useful networks are large, diverse, and characterized by meaningful exclusivity and affinity. "Diversity of the network is absolutely critical," says David Teten, CEO of Nitron Advisors. "When you bring together leaders from different industries and backgrounds, the network gains tremendous utility. Participating in community, business, or academic organizations is a good way for active-duty military to diversify their contact base."
By virtue of our military connections, we all are part of one of the largest prebuilt "networks" in existence: the military community. In general, veterans and retirees do want to help current and former military members. Unfortunately, there is no straightforward way to locate veterans inside individual companies or career fields. In most cases, you probably will have to rely on personal networks or other organizations to leverage the military connection.
In many cases, your college alumni group or military association may be your best option. Organizations such as the Naval Institute, Naval Reserve Association, Fleet Reserve Association, and Military Officers Association of America publish directories of their members; some are even available online. Your undergraduate/graduate school is probably keeping track of its alumni and may offer networking tools to its members. Service academy graduates, for example, have access to an extensive online directory of graduates. Most of these organizations allow you to search the member database by company, field of work, name, or service - an invaluable feature when trying to locate a relevant contact, and well worth the price of membership.
In the last year or so, we also have seen the emergence of "social networking" services on the Internet. You may have heard of some of them: Tribe.net, Spoke.com, ZeroDegrees.com, LinkedIn.com. Most of these services allow you to share in the network of your friends and their friends. You could use one of these services, for example, to see that your former shipmate knows the vice president for marketing at Lockheed and request an introduction. These services extend the success of online dating into the world of business networking. They are valuable services for connecting, but they are not substitutes for good relationship building.
Once connected, technology makes it easy to stay in touch. For those of you with hundreds or thousands of contacts in your address book, there are some exciting new third-party plug ins to Outlook that make keeping your addresses up to date a snap. One of the best is a free service called Plaxo. With Plaxo, the contacts you select receive your contact information and are asked to verify their contact information, which automatically updates your Outlook or personal information manager.
Networking is not an end in itself; it should be an enjoyable and interesting part of professional and personal development.
Chris Michel is CEO of Military.com, the nation's largest military membership organization. Military.com connects over 3 million members to the lifelong benefits of military service. Members trust Military.com for career, education and financial services. Prior to founding Military.com, Chris served as a Naval Flight Officer in the United States Navy. While on active duty, Chris flew as a P-3 Navigator, Tactical Coordinator and Mission Commander in support of maritime interdiction operations in the Red Sea, NATO enforcement operations in the Adriatic, and counter-narcotics missions in Central America. Following his operational tour, Chris worked in the Pentagon as Aide to the Chief of the Naval Reserve. He holds degrees from the University of Illinois and Harvard Business School.
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