Networking offers you the chance to tap into the skills and talents of a variety of people from inside and outside the organization. For instance, more and more you will be called upon to be a member of (or even head up) teams, manage projects or hold meetings-activities that will involve people from outside your department. Integral to these new responsibilities will be your ability to get, easily and readily, the participation of anyone in the organization. Outside your company, a reliable network provides you with opportunities for career advancement.

• Lend others within your organization a hand.
• Find opportunities to meet more people within your organization. Join colleagues for lunch. Don't lunch with the same person over and over again. Invite new individuals to join you.
• Find opportunities for professional colleagues and business contacts to introduce you to their friends. Being a friend of a friend is a quick way to establish rapport.
• Befriend successful people. If the person is well connected, that person might find a way to make you a member of his or her network.
• Share credit with others. The people you recognize for their accomplishments will become part of your network or allies at the very least.
• Building a network is an ongoing responsibility. Given the time and energy invested, you want to keep it healthy. To do that:

• Stay in touch. Don't just call or e-mail when you want something. Let the individual know that you are there to help with his or her needs. If you are asked for help, keep in mind that your kindness will be remembered when you have a favor to ask.
• Remain trustworthy. Confidences shared should remain confidences. Promises made should be kept. One misstep, and you can wipe out an entire network.

• Say "Thank you." We get so wrapped up in running our businesses that we forget to say these two simple words. Better yet, write a brief note that shows your appreciation. You can e-mail your thanks but somehow a handwritten note says it so much better.
• Be upbeat. We all have bad days, and there may be members of your network with whom you can share your troubles, but don't make all your communications negative or "me-focused."

We mentioned that one critical use of a network is to gain information that either you need or your boss needs to complete a task or make a decision. You can't be knowledgeable about everything or have access to every important report or other resource, but you can have the next best thing-someone who knows or is an expert. Further, we have talked about the importance of getting to know your co-workers-in fact, getting to know at least one person in each department in your firm.
In seeking out specific information, however, it helps that you learn who are the best people to ask for that information. Generally, when a person is extremely knowledgeable about a subject, most people know about it. Ask around to identify the experts in your organization. Introduce yourself. While the topic may be something you know very little about, the expert will find answering a few questions a minor inconvenience at most.

If you have a corporate library, an important person to know is the librarian. If you don't have an in-house library or research staff, get to know your local city reference librarian and the librarian in charge of periodicals. These people are usually extremely knowledgeable about where you can find articles-including information on the web.

If you are fortunate enough to have a corporate librarian, be sure to alert him or her whenever you are doing research on a particular subject. The librarian can then be on the lookout for articles about the topic.

You should familiarize yourself with search sites on the Web, of course. Need help there? Seek out someone within your organization knowledgeable about researching on the Web. This could be the first major step to building your information network.