There’s a great article on Career Solvers called Why Networking Gets a Bad Rap and What to Do About It which provides information on how to “properly” network when looking for a job. It also has some excellent tips on how to be more effective while networking.

Among my favorite advice:

…when you network you should never ask someone for a job… You ask them for information that will help you in your search. Your goal is to build a relationship and establish rapport so that if a potential opportunity becomes available in the future, they will want to refer you…

and…

Building a network is about creating a genuine, caring relationship. Thank your contact for the information they have supplied and see if you can help them in some way. Maybe your contact is interested in living in an area that you are familiar with or has a child interested in attending the same school you just graduated from. Share your knowledge of the school and your experience there as a way to help the other person. Keep notes on what you learn about your contacts so that future correspondence can have a personalized touch…

Check out the full article here.

Related posts:

1. What is networking?
2. The Layers of Social Networking
3. The Three Best Ways To Contact Your Contacts
4. Maintaining your network
5. Guest Post: Networking Success Stories