Selfish Masquerade

It is undeniable that the ability to network is a great skill. With the right connections, careers are launched, deals are sold, and problems are solved. Whether the network has been developed on-line or in the local community (hopefully both), these folks can make or break a situation. You read articles on an almost daily basis about how to grow and use your network to your advantage, say when you're job hunting. However, what are YOU doing for people in YOUR network?

I've got a nice little Saturday planned. The brief outline:

• Setting up a wireless network
• Replacing a hard drive and installing RAM on a laptop
• Reviewing mortgage paperwork and helping determine the proper escrow withholding
• Review a previous tax return to identify an error and re-file, if necessary.

That's a full day for anyone. Now, none of these tasks are for me. They are each for different friends of mine. And these aren't 'paid' jobs at all. I may get a few dollars or a sandwich out of the deal, but that's about it. And it will most likely be rather inconvenient, that's for sure. So why am I doing it? Because they asked. And that's what a network really is. A connection of friendships.

In my own career, an internship I did in high school resulted in my current position 7 years later. My brother, owning his own small business, has opened up another level of networking to me, given that he has bartered his services with others for years now. Given that both he and I are fortunate enough to live in the same area for most of my life, we don't pay retail for most services. We simply take care of each other.

Having a one-sided network isn't something to feel good about. And it isn't really something to rely on, either. After all, people won't be too quick to help someone that they (a) don't consider a friend, and (b) hasn't been able to help them at all. Think about the people that you consider in your network. Are they friends? Would you help them if it were inconvenient? If not, maybe it's time to re-think your network building skills, and look yourself in the mirror a bit.