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Networking during a Recession

Yes, you can network during a recession. Follow these tips to make sure your networking skills are up to the challenge.

A recession may seem like the wrong time to focus on career networking. Isn't everyone else too worried about their own job to worry about your career?

In fact, it's a great time to network. Lots of people are focused on jobs and careers right now — and lots of people either want to help or need help with their careers.

Read more about the art of networking on ISEEK's Form a network page. And then follow these special tips for networking during a recession:

Practice your networking "elevator speech." That's your two-minute description of your skills and career goals that you pass along to networking contacts. Keeping it short and simple will ensure that people don't tune you out.

Keep it positive, friendly and confident. You may have hard feelings toward your former boss or your former place of employment. Or you may feel anxious about your situation, maybe even desperate. But people are much more likely to respond well to you when you present yourself as a positive problem solver. People empathize with people who were laid off, but they are more apt to help those who rise above the challenge.

Use all the networks you can. It's the era of social networking. Websites such as LinkedIn and Facebook are great networking tools. But don't forget good old-fashioned person-to-person networking, too. If you've been laid off, you may have more time to attend trade groups that focus on your industry or specific skills. Job fairs don't always lead to jobs, but they can be great places to make important contacts and practice your networking elevator speech.

Remember the net goes both ways. Networking is about helping other people as much as it is about other people helping you. Think of it this way: You wouldn't expect someone you barely know to trust you enough to connect you their closest friends. But people are more likely to help you once they've seen that you have helped others yourself.