What is the Most Important Key to Future Job Search Success Starting As a Teen?

Welcome back. Do you remember that last time I told you I would tell you what the most important thing was that you could do toward helping your career, starting as early as in your teen years? I won’t keep you in suspense, but if you don’t remember any other advice about job search, career or employment that anyone gives you, for your own sake, please remember this. . .

The answer: NETWORKING If you don’t know what networking is, don’t feel badly. Many people either don’t know what it is or have a very vague idea of what it is, yet I’ll bet you’ve been doing it all of your life. Others who think they know what networking is don’t really fine tune this skill enough to use it to their greatest advantage.

If you are a teen or recent high school/college graduate and you are reading this, you will have a tremendous advantage in your life if you learn what networking is now and how to build an effective network to use to your and others advantage as you progress in your working career. So take a few minutes now and learn a little bit about networking. It will not only benefit you in your employment years, but may even benefit you in other areas of your life.

Let’s start with the basics. Networking is defined by Dictionary.com as “An extended group of people with similar interests or concerns who interact and remain in informal contact for mutual assistance or support.”

Picking this definition apart, we find that networking consists of 1. An extended group of people. An extended group of people could start simply by being those in your immediate family or your closest friends. They most likely have similar concerns and may even have some similar interests.

2. “who interact and remain in informal contact” for mutual assistance or support. It is unlikely that your immediate family or your closest friends will interact with you or be in informal contact. But, it is VERY important to include your family and your closest friends in your “network.” So who are these people who I interact with who can be part of my potential job search, career, or employment network?

Next time we will discuss who will be part of this extensive network you are going to be building over your lifetime. Look forward to blogging for you again. Have a great and blessed week!

Stay tuned for The “Network”!