Now since we know the importance of networking skills and the kind of role it will play when you are looking for jobs. In this lecture, I will give you seven tips on how to improve your networking skills and to make it more productive. The first suggestion is that you should include the right people in your network. Now, these can be your as I mentioned before, your previous colleagues, your co workers, or your friends working in various organizations, your family members who are well acquainted in the market, and also your previous Illumina friends who are currently working in various organizations. At the same time, if you are a fresh graduate, you can get in touch with your teachers and your professors and ask them for help. The second thing to consider is that you should know what your network can do for you.

As I mentioned earlier in my previous lectures, that around 80% professionals said that they had contacts in various organizations which helped them in getting a job. third tip is that you should always stay in touch with your network. And I say this not only when you need them Help, but also when you don't. So not just when you are looking for a job even after it or even before that, you should be in touch with your network on a regular basis, you can send them an email, or maybe a text message or just to drop them a one minute phone call, all these things will really help you in your overall career progression. The next point is that you have to give in order to get something. So think about it.

What are the things that you can actually do for your network? Maybe if they're working in different organizations, or in different roles, you can ask what kind of challenges they are facing, you can go online, look up some articles and just share it with them over the email. These are the things that will help you gain respect amongst your network. And they will also be inclined towards helping you for whatever reasons that you might have. Then comes an important point is that you have to keep track of your network. So if you know people, you have to jot down their information, their contact details of where they live and everything and all the people that they know, on a piece of paper or a notepad, or ideally electronically on your cell phones, if you do that effectively, you will not lose the content, and it will be much easier for you to stay in touch with them on a regular basis.

Now, networking online is something that has recently evolved, and at the moment, it is one of the most successful tools that you can employ in order to get your first breakthrough. Networking online means that you can go to different social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and a number of other websites, where you can network with people currently working in all different organizations, or those individuals who are specific to a field maybe the same field that you're interested in. So these are the places where you can start looking for jobs, you can start looking for people who are actually like minded, who have the time to listen to you, and maybe even within job seekers as well. So you know, if there are people who are looking for jobs, it's good to be part of a group because one way or another, you will get informed of what's happening.

In the market, what is the overall trend of what people are thinking how the crowd is moving, and accordingly you can manage your moves as well. Then finally, the last step is to attend networking events. Now, these are extremely important events that are happening regularly around the world. Even if you have to pay a nominal amount to be part of such events, I would suggest that you should do so because you have to invest some money and some time for your own success. So keeping these seven tips in mind, I hope it will be easier for you to network now. Because like it or not, this is something that you will have to do both at this stage and in the future as well.