By Nada Steighner, MS, NCC, CDF

In a time where we are practicing social distancing, we might feel more disconnected than ever. Here are 5 ways to revitalize your professional network without ever leaving your house.

1: Evaluate Your Network

Just like with any spring cleaning process, you should make a list of your existing contacts and assess whether there are any contacts you do not need anymore. Ask yourself the following questions:

When was the last time you connected to this person?
How do you know them and what is the quality of the relationship?
How did you add value to that connection (and vice versa)?
Is the connection worth keeping and if so, how will you add value to that connection in the future (and vice versa)?

2: Start Networking

Once you’ve figured out who is in your network that you want to keep, make a genuine outreach attempt by starting a conversation. You can either begin the conversation from where you left off or simply inquire how they are doing during this time. It might sound tedious to go through your entire network, but right now you have the time to devote towards strengthening those relationships.

Don’t stress if they don’t contact you back right away. Forbes suggests that you need to be considerate, since some individuals in your network may be experiencing layoffs, furlough, or in an industry that is high demand.

3: Use LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the number one resource for building and staying connected to your professional network. If you haven’t already done so, connect with individuals you have identified in your network and add any that you may have missed.

To boost your connections, endorse the skills and abilities your connections have demonstrated in their career. Additionally, if they have really helped you in your career, write a recommendation. You can ask someone in your network to write a recommendation for you, but if you do, make sure they have time and are the right person to highlight an accomplishment or skill you have demonstrated.

4: Join Virtual Groups and Forums

If you want to take LinkedIn to the next level, you may want to explore their Groups feature. Using the search function, identify an interest, industry, or job role you’re interested in and see what Groups are associated. You may have to be approved before joining so it’s a good idea to clean up your LinkedIn profile and make sure it’s complete.

However, LinkedIn isn’t the only place where you can network. Facebook and MeetUp are also great places for networking. Remember, if you’re going to use Facebook, you may want to clean up your profile and adjust your security settings. And although Meet Up is set up for face-to-face connections, it doesn’t hurt to join now. They may offer virtual meet-ups for your interest(s) during this time.

5: Create A Networking Tracker

The last step in networking can be the hardest, which is keeping track of your network. It is recommended that you try to set up a tracker to record the following:

Contact information (name, telephone number, email address)
How long you’ve known them and their relationship to you
How you added value to that relationship (and vice versa)
The last time you contacted them

You can set up your tracker by figuring out:

How often you want to do outreach (monthly, quarterly, or bi-annually)
If there are certain individuals that you may want to connect with on a regular basis
How you prefer to connect (email check-in, phone, networking events, or eventually face-to-face).

Whatever you decide, remember that you can always make changes to suit your schedule and lifestyle.

The biggest takeaway? Continue doing outreach even now, as doing so will foster a stronger relationship with your network and can lead to new opportunities in the future, when social distancing becomes a thing of the past.

References:

Coronavirus and Your Career: How To Effectively Network During A Quarantine

5 Ways To Manage Your Network While Social Distancing