For some of us, the concept of networking will evoke an association of belonging, power, safety and confidence. For others, it may just evoke a cloying and intimidating image.

Whichever meaning you choose to lend to the concept of networking, it is part of all of our lives, consciously or subconsciously. You could almost call it a survival technique.

Els Brouwer of Projob has written an eBook to help you understand networking better.

How to improve your networking skills

The eBook: Networking? How does it work? is one of a series of eBooks on Job Market Topics & Natural Storytelling, published by Projob.

Reading this book will help you to become more aware of how you see networking, the significance you attach to it and what associations (both positive and negative) the word "networking" evokes in you.

Examine it under a microscope and re-evaluate your beliefs anew: Is what you always believed about networking actually true?

To help you see your own role, beliefs and behaviour when it comes to networking, the eBook features handy exercises and questions. You will be challenged to write your own story on networking and how to use that when you go to a network meeting.

It also provides a lot of practical information about networking in general, and how to benefit from it in the best possible way.

Here is one of the small stories in the eBook that should inspire you not to let yourself be blinkered by assumptions and fears when telling your own story at a network meeting:

The story of two saplings

Two saplings were planted next to each other on fertile soil.

One sapling had the uncontrollable urge to grow and declared it out loud to all and sundry: "I want to grow!" he shouted. "I want to feel my roots go deep into the ground and break upwards through the earth’s crust! I want to stretch my tender buds to announce the arrival of spring! I want to feel the warmth of the sun on my face and the cool of the morning dew on my petals!"

The seed nestled into the ground and grew into a beautiful flower in harmony with the nature around it. The other seed looked on with awe and said softly to itself: "I'm afraid. If I let my roots push downwards, I do not know what I will encounter in the dark. If I break through the soil I may damage my delicate buds."

"Imagine if I display my buds and they get eaten by a snail?! If I open my blossoms, what happens if a child comes along and plucks them! No, I’d better wait until I am sure the coast is clear."

The seed waited…. Then a free-range chicken came along, looking for food, found the seed in waiting and gobbled it down.

He who refuses to take risks denies himself the chance to grow and connect to others and will be consumed by life itself.

About the author

Els Brouwer, is the Chief Content & Innovation Officer at Projob, a top recruitment agency in Amsterdam that also provides career coaching, training seminars, and interim professionals. 

Besides being an experienced labour market specialist, Els is also a professional storyteller. For her master proof at the Storytelling Academy, she wrote and illustrated the series of eBooks Job Market Topics and Natural Storytelling.

Through her eBooks and training seminars, she wants to help people connect their own story to that of their environment or company.

Enrich your life by networking with a good story, and buy the first English eBook in this series about networking!