Executive career coach Ford Meyers gives practical advice for making valuable connections both inside and outside your company. Looking to improve your professional network inside and outside your company? These three tips from executive career coach Ford Meyers will help you decide what you should do, what you may want to do and what you should never do. Always network with business peers and others by making genuine personal connections–even if you use technology (email, texting or social media) to make first contact. There is still no substitute for socializing. Follow everything from CIO on Twitter @CIOonline. If networking makes you uncomfortable, get some coaching and support that will improve your skills and help you get comfortable with this vital discipline. Commit to mastering the process so you can use continuous networking as a primary strategy for career building. Sometimes attend senior-level workshops, classes or webinars that are more business-oriented and less technical. This will make you a better leader with broader management skills, and it will help you connect with influential networking partners. Join prestigious professional organizations and associations and assume leadership roles to build your visibility and credibility. Seek opportunities to write and publish articles in your area of expertise. Speak at technology conferences and seminars. This additional exposure will expand your network and attract greater career opportunities. Never spend all your networking or job search time in front of the computer or on your smartphone. Don’t limit yourself to networking only with other IT professionals. Realize that being highly proficient with new technologies won’t necessarily keep you competitive in the market. Be careful with your use of technical jargon and stop thinking of yourself purely as a “technologist” who happens to work in business. Recast yourself as a business person who uses technology as their primary tool for achieving business objectives. Ford R. Myers is an executive career coach and president of Career Potential. Follow everything from CIO.com on Twitter @CIOonline, Facebook, Google + and LinkedIn. Related content brandpost Sponsored by NTT DATA Transform your technology and accelerate business outcomes with NTT DATA’s Technology Solutions By Miriam Murphy, Chief Executive Officer at NTT, Europe Dec 06, 2023 4 mins Digital Transformation brandpost Sponsored by SAP How the cloud and AI will help more companies become future proof In a world where macroeconomic uncertainty has become the new normal, being future-proof is no longer a ‘nice to have’. It’s a must have. By Scott Russell, Customer Success at SAP Dec 06, 2023 4 mins IT Leadership feature 6 generative AI hazards IT leaders should avoid The opportunities to use generative AI will greatly vary for each organization, but the ways it can go wrong are turning out to be fairly universal. By Mary Branscombe Dec 06, 2023 11 mins CIO Application Performance Management Generative AI interview Delivering value through IT at Village Roadshow During a recent CIO Leadership Live session, Michael Fagan, chief transformation officer of Australian cinema and theme park company Village Roadshow, spoke with CIO’s editor in chief for APAC Cathy O'Sullivan about delivering value, colla By CIO staff Dec 06, 2023 8 mins CIO CIO Leadership Live Change Management Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe