Blog Post: My new favorite Networking definition.

Not long ago, I was listening to Alice Dendinger, SPHR who is president of the Alice Dendinger Alliance Group in Austin and also serving as President of the Texas State Council for SHRM.

She gave a presentation to the Regional Student SHRM Games. In her remarks, she gave me the biggest networking gift ever. She said this:

When you are networking, "it's not who YOU know but who knows YOU".

It was the biggest networking lightbulb moment of my professional career. I believe Alice is a rock star with out the purple hair. Here I have been networking, gathering cards, sending notes and then with that one remark, it all came together for me. Thank you Alice for that.

Certainly I not implying that you just need to wait for people to come to you. Absoutely not. You still need to attend networking events consistently, get to know people and build relationships, follow up with "actworking". Don't just collect business cards - act on them with a hand written note or better yet a referral for that new contact. As you build your personal brand, your network will build as well. Good luck!