First, a quick shout-out to our new bloggers from Frito-Lay.  It was a pleasure meeting you at the WIN Women’s Leadership Conference last week! 

WHEN YOU NEED A RELATIONSHIP IT’S TOO LATE TO BUILD IT.  You’ve heard me say this dozens of times in this blog, in my books, during interviews, and on the keynote platform.  If ever there was a time for you to take these words to heart, the time is now. 

A very clever client shared how she’s staying connected during this difficult economy.  She knows that this is not the time to make a job change, but there will come a time when she’s ready to make a move and wants people to keep her in mind.  Here are a few of the strategies she’s following:

• Continue to meet colleagues for breakfast, lunch, or a cup of coffee.   It’s easy to say nothing’s happening on the job front, but don’t be lulled into complacency.  Maintain the relationships you have and seek to build new ones. 
• Ask how you can be of help to others — not vice versa.  My client wants to be known as a valuable resource.  Down the road this  will parlay into having collected enough “chips” to entitle her to ask for a favor when it’s most needed. 
• Be a broker of relationships.  Connect people who might be able to help one another or who share areas of professional commonality.
• Circulate information — articles, websites, conferences, etc. The caveat is to do it judiciously.  No one needs more e-mail to wade through, but if you know someone has a specific interest in a topic send the link to them. 
• Volunteer for community assignments.  If your company is active in the community, being a representative for it gives you more visibility, hence the opportunity to build more relationships.
• Help to keep your professional association alive.  Many wonderful organizations are struggling to stay afloat because membership is dwindling.  Don’t just attend meetings, serve on a committee to increase membership or raise the association’s profile. 
• Stay in touch with colleagues who leave your company.  You don’t have to invite them to Thanksgiving dinner, but forwarding a job posting to someone who’s been laid off or picking up the phone to see how someone is doing who took a separation package enables you to maintain your professional network.

Most important, is that you do these things with a generous spirit, authentically, and not just because you hope to get something out of it.  Give more than you ever expect to get back.

TAGS: building relationships, Job Search, Networking, strategic networking