How has the Internet changed professional networking?
The Internet has introduced new methods of professional networking. Instead of flipping through Rolodexes, we’ve started using smartphone applications like Bump and iPhone Contacts to trade and track contact information. Instead of snail-mailing resumes, we upload them to online portals and email them to recruiters. We still meet with potential employers for interviews–but video conferencing and virtual office meetings are increasingly common.
To be clear, these new strategies for networking are not completely replacing their old-fashioned equivalents. Personal contact is still valued as a means of solidifying relationships. But instead of a handwritten thank you card, it is now more common to send a personalized thank you email.
Though college students typically use the Internet for Facebook and Buzzfeed, social platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and even Instagram are just as important for cultivating a brand. Potential employers in the US used to rely on background checks, phone calls, and in person interviews to get a sense of who someone was. It was easy to compartmentalize and separate one’s personal life from one’s professional life. That is no longer the case. As technology becomes increasingly connected with our everyday lives, it becomes necessary to keep track of the information about us that is online–and accessible by others.
What is still the same?
The goals and principles of online networking are similar to those involved with networking in person. Listening actively, building trust, and following through are key to building networks in any sphere. Whether networking on- or off-line, emerging professionals still aim to:
- establish contacts,
- exchange opportunities,
- gain insight into specific industries,
- and explore various careers.
Additionally, maintaining one’s online image–your “brand”–is just as important as one’s reputation in real life. One may argue that the two are now inextricably linked. We live in a time where Google is a verb–as in, your professional network contacts are Googling you. Your inappropriate Facebook photos can kill a job application, just as a selectively curated online portfolio can land you a position with a dream company.