Strategic networking tips and examples

0:00 Hi, I'm Carla Hunter, a Career Advisor at University of Phoenix. Today, we will be going over five tips for developing a strategic networking plan. 0:15 Strategic networking helps you proactively grow and maintain relationships that can enhance your career goals. Whether you're looking for advice, information, or job leads, it's important to cultivate a network, a valuable connections to support you on your career journey. 0:36 Before you start expanding your network, establish your goals. Determine what you are looking to get out of strategic networking. Your goal may be to enhance your knowledge of a specific industry or receive referrals to job opportunities, find mentors, learn about entry points into a desired field or uncover hidden or unadvertised job opportunities. 1:04 Next, identify your target audience. These are the people who work in your desired career field. To identify who those people are, focus on locations, industries, companies, and job titles, most relevant to your professional interests. 1:23 Once you've developed a targeted audience, you'll need a clear and concise way of communicating your career interests. This tells your network what you're hoping to achieve and can help them point you in the direction of other professionals for you to connect with. 1:43 Your current network is bigger than you think. Tap into connections. Start by creating a list of your close contacts and acquaintances. Ask them for introductions to people in your target audience so you can request informational interviews. 2:00 Focus on building and strengthening your relationships and remember to send a thank you note to each person helping you along the way. Expanding your network helps you cultivate relationships and expand your reach with people outside of your existing social circles. 2:19 Consider growing your network on LinkedIn, and join professional associations to meet others in the same industry as you. 2:28 It's important to foster and maintain relationships -- new professional relationships by staying connected. This will help you strengthen your relationship, validate your efforts, and contribute to the long-term maintenance of your connections. 2:46 The key to strategic networking is to connect, build, and maintain relationships one person at a time. 2:57 If you want to learn more about strategic networking, our downloadable guide includes additional tips and informational interview questions. 3:08 Click the link in the description to learn more. If you liked today's video, subscribe to our University of Phoenix YouTube channel for more great career content. 3:20 And if you have questions, please leave them in the comment section below. Thanks for watching. 3:29