Networking should be both fun and rewarding. That’s why we’ve compiled some information and tips for you:
Why you should network
Networking is all about inspiring and motivating one another, and choosing the paths you want your professional life to take.
What you get from a good network:
- Opportunities to grow and venture into uncharted territory. It’s no coincidence that every third job comes about via contacts.
- Insights into interesting companies when people you know change jobs. You can ask them what it’s like to work at their company if it’s one you’ve not heard of before.
- Lost touch with people you went to school, studied or worked with? A good network helps you stay in touch and up to date with your contacts.
- Interested in an address book with all your professional contacts that updates itself and can’t be lost? Look no further than XING.
- Inspiration and information about the latest trends in your industry, handpicked by your contacts.
- Share key industry information with your network and position yourself as an expert.
- Questions? Just ask your contacts and other XING members to tap into their knowledge and expertise.
- Want to check out a company before applying or attending an interview? Ask around – your contacts may be able to help. You can also get in touch with people who work at the company for direct insights.
Here are two examples of how networking can help you:
- You’re unhappy in your current job. Your XING feed shows you that a colleague of yours is now a former colleague. As it happens, you’ve been interested in where she works for some time now, and the company has good reviews on kununu. Now’s your chance to ask your former colleague what it’s like to work there and find out whether there’s an opening for you.
- Someone you studied with contacts you via XING to ask if you know someone with bitcoin experience. As you recently watched a good video about bitcoin, you send them a link to the video. After discussing things for a while, you end up being invited to a conference on cryptocurrencies and blockchain.
These are just two possible opportunities you can experience thanks to networking.
Grow your network. Here are a few ideas to help you with that.
Send contact requests
Adding contacts is simple. Send a contact request, with or without a personal note.
Give it a go! With 21 million XING members looking to build their own networks, what have you got to lose?
Of course you should have one or more reasons for getting in touch with someone. However you stand to benefit by connecting with someone, it’s also worth thinking about how you can help them so everyone wins.
Ready to grow your network? Here are a few ideas to help you with that.
Grow your network
You might not have much of an online network yet, but that doesn’t mean you don’t already have a large network. Start building your online network by adding people you already know, such as:
- Family members
- Friends
- Acquaintances
- Current and former colleagues
- People you went to school or university with
- Recruiters
- Business contacts
- Clients
When using XING in your browser, you’ll find the member search at the top of the page. Just click the magnifier icon. From there you can enter names and keywords to find other XING members.
Note: By default, your network can see when you add contacts. To turn that off, simply change your settings. You may want to do this, e.g. when adding contacts at prospective new employers or when connecting with recruiters.
Other ways to add interesting new contacts:
- Via existing contacts – Browse your contacts’ contacts for any mutual acquaintances or simply to see who they’re connected with. If you come across someone you think would be a good match for your network, ask your contact to introduce you to them.
- Via the suggestions in the network section.
More Tips
- Not sure whether to add someone to your network? Take a look at their profile and see if you have anything in common, be it interests or contacts.
- Like receiving contact requests? Put yourself in the best-possible position by completing your profile and keeping it up to date. A profile photo is highly recommended as this is the easiest way for people to recognise you.
Grow your network. Here are a few ideas to help you with that.
Even more tips for premium members
Premium membership unlocks even more features:
- You can send a message with your contact requests. This adds a more personal touch and gives you the opportunity to tell someone why you should connect.
- You can send 5 messages to non-contacts each month, helping you stay in touch with a broader scope of people.
- You can see your profile visitors, browse their profile and add them to your contacts.
- You can use the advanced member search for more specific and more efficient searches.
- You receive contact suggestions based on shared contacts, current and former colleagues, and profile commonalities.
- You can keep your growing network organized by sorting contacts by keywords.
Grow your network. Here are a few ideas to help you with that.
Questions?
If there’s anything not covered here that you’d like to know, just contact us.