Everything old is new again Here’s a social notion that you need not keep at a distance. Ask anyone in the “jobs” business – that is: recruiters, job coaches, hiring managers, human resource professionals, et.al. – and overwhelmingly they will state unequivocally that networking may be the most important part of anyone’s job search. This is true for anyone – old or young, man or woman, white collar or blue collar, etc., etc.
Ask anyone today who is actively involved in a job search and, while acknowledging the importance of networking, they will add how difficult – if not impossible – it is to network in today’s locked-down, social-distancing environment. Is it?
Let’s take a trip back to the future – to 1982. In that year, John Naisbitt released a book which he called MegaTrends. In that book – which many people still cite today for a variety of reasons – Naisbitt extolled on the advantages and necessity for networking. Few will argue.
However, in today’s quarantined world, the most important aspect of Naisbitt’s tome is his definition of networking. To Naisbitt, networking is “exchange of ideas, information and resources.” There it is. Simple. Straightforward. To the point.
Review that definition slowly and carefully. What part of that definition can you NOT do today? You may not be able to do it in ways in which you’re familiar, or comfortable, but there is no reason why you can NOT “exchange ideas, information and resources.”
You can certainly accomplish those exchanges via the telephone, through email or text messages, through video (i.e. Zoom or Skype), through LinkedIn or other social media. There is not one reason why you can’t.
So, what are you waiting for?
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