Are you currently struggling to achieve your goals? Knowing your goals is one thing and achieving them is another. This is where contacts, personal or [tag]business[/tag], can be of help. Contacts can open doors of opportunities that may otherwise have been closed. The steps below will give you an idea of how to make networking work for you.

1. When you first think about [tag]networking[/tag], make sure you are absolutely clear about what you are hoping to achieve. Knowing your own goals is just as important as finding people to help you to reach them.
2. Make a list of your strengths to remind yourself of the skills, experience, and knowledge you have to offer others.
3. Try to build your networks before you need to ask others for help. This will show that you are interested in building helpful alliances rather than just looking out for your own interests.
4. Put together an action plan of who you intend to contact when, and which events might be useful to attend. Keep track of your plan and your progress so that you can  change tack if you need to.
5. Think about how you can market yourself as well as network. Take a step back and see yourself as a ‘brand’ for a few minutes. What is it that set you apart from others?

I hope this helps.