Business

Professional relationship network: learn how to build yours

admin • 17 Sep 2023

The relationship network, also known as networking, is a set of contacts that can benefit each other. These are professionals you meet at jobs, conferences, seminars and even in social networking groups.

The interesting thing here, as said, is that both can help each other — some offering vacancies, others providing services. So, it's not just about maintaining contacts with CEOs, but also people who are in contact with your area of ​​interest.

Do you already have a relationship network? Do you know how important it is in your professional life? In this post, you will discover the benefits of networking and how to set it up. Check out:

What are the advantages of having a relationship network?

1. Get promotions in the company you work for

Having a good relationship with other people in the company can help you to have that opportunity to reach the desired position.

2. Get a job

If your network of contacts knows that you are looking for a professional replacement, they can help by recommending you to job openings with your profile.

3. Change of professional field

Keeping an eye on successful professionals in the area you've always dreamed of working in will make the transition process much easier. Talk to them, ask what the job market is like and other important information. Also make yourself available for entry-level employment.

4. Professional assistance to other professionals

Just as you may have benefits, other people want them too. So, if you are professionally stable, why not hire or help people who are looking for a new opportunity? This attitude will make you a reference both professionally and as a human being.
In a relationship network, employees help each other

How to build your professional relationship network?

With willingness and simple tips, you can have effective networking. Look:

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the social network aimed at professionals who want to build a relationship network. You can get a job, follow companies you admire and even become a reference in your sector.

See how you can work your profile:

• writing posts about your area and the job market;
• constantly updating your profile;
• encouraging people to comment on your content. For example: at the end of a post, you can ask “what do you think of this?”
• responding to positive and negative comments. As it is a professional network, LinkedIn provides much healthier discussions. Therefore, you do not need to fear criticism, but rather learn from it;
• commenting on posts from other colleagues, always with observations that add something to the discussion;
• using LinkedIn Pulse, a tool that allows you to develop longer and more complete texts, as if it were a blog. Use it to demonstrate that you dominate the segment in which you operate or want to operate. Talk mainly about news or a topic that is being talked about a lot at the moment. If your text has good engagement, LinkedIn itself may indicate it in its newsletter.

Personal branding

When you want to achieve a professional position, you need to know how to position yourself accordingly. To do this, you need to develop your branding, that is, how you want people — and companies — to see you.
To build a relationship network suited to your profile, it is important to work on personal branding, that is, the way you are seen and recognized by people.
Personal branding needs time, effort and attention to detail. After all, it’s like “reconstructing” an individual’s view of you.

Your image, behavior with other professionals (from the working sector to the strategic sector), posture and security are constantly observed. But it's not just that, it's about acting by showing who you are and what you have to offer.

Think of yourself as a brand: how do you want to be remembered?

Quality of contacts

It's not enough to go about adding people unrestrainedly on LinkedIn: you need to have discretion. Maintain a network of relationships with professionals who update their profiles, have a good resume, work in segment one in an area related to the one you want to work on. The important thing is that, in a certain way, these people can contribute to your professional growth and vice versa.

Lectures and seminars

The saying goes that if you are not seen, you are not remembered. So, if you want to build your relationship network, you need to be present in places where professionals in your segment are.

Lectures, seminars, workshops and other corporate events are smart ways to increase your networking and learn much more about the job market. Pay attention to what is said, write down interesting points or those that left doubts. If there is a space for questions and comments, you can take the opportunity to clarify them. It's a way to show that you're there and care about learning.

But be careful: questions and comments must be relevant, not just a moment to appear. Standing out means speaking up when necessary, making timely and intelligent comments, as well as clearing up doubts that other professionals also had but didn't ask.

As you have seen, it is more than possible to build a solid and interesting relationship network that can have you as a professional reference for possible referrals. But, to do this, you need to be present where influential and respectable professionals can see you. After all, good networking is full of valuable connections.