As a Military Spouse you probably network every day without realizing it. You network to gain support from others and to learn about your new locations. As Military Spouses, we are good at building networks in short periods of time but we are not necessarily great at maintaining those networks over an extended period of time. To build and maintain an effective network in support of your career, it is important that you view your connections as long-term, and that you continue to nurture these connections long after you have moved to a new location. Follow these 5 steps to build and maintain an effective network in support of your long term career.

     STEP 1. The Introduction. Whenever you have the chance to meet somebody new...take that opportunity. Be friendly, approachable and initiate the introduction. Establish conversation about a topic that you think will be of interest to both of you. This is not the time to be giving a 30 Second Commercial or Sales Pitch. 

     STEP 2. Ask Questions To Establish Links. Studies show that the best networkers are those who listen. Ask questions to show that you have a genuine interest in the person you are speaking to and use their answers to generate links between you. Tailor these questions to the environment you are in. The questions you ask a representative at a Job Fair will obviously be more professionally focussed than the questions you ask a Spectator at a Sports Event or a Friend of a Friend at a BBQ.  'Which child on the Soccer team is yours?', 'How long have you been living here?', 'Where did you grow up?', 'What did you enjoy most about living in the North East?', 'Do you have a large family?' or 'When did you start working here?' Use their answers to establish things you have in common and to learn more about how you could help them with advice or resources in the future.

     STEP 3. Communicate Needs. It is only after you have established a genuine connection and shown interest in the other person that you should communicate any needs you have. In some situations this may be an appropriate place for your '30 Second Commercial'. Communicate what you are hoping for in a career or employment position and ask for any advice or referrals they may be able to give you. Listen to their advice. It is difficult to go back to a contact and ask for advice or help later if they know you did not follow their advice or contact their referral the previous time.

     STEP 4. Follow Up. Always take the opportunity to say thank you and to continue the relationship with the contact through a different means. If you met in person, send them an email or a thank you card. Find them on Linked In or another Social Network if appropriate. Personalize your note or email with some thoughts on something they shared with you. If they provided you with a referral, acknowledge their help and give them some feedback that the referral was valuable.

     STEP 5. Stay in Touch. A connection will be far more likely to assist you in the future if you have made some attempt to stay in touch with them. It is difficult to reach out and ask for help from somebody that you knew at a military base 6 years ago but have not bothered to stay in touch with since. Maintain and nurture your network by thinking about what you can offer them. Email them an article you think they might be interested in, send them a note on their birthday, ask about their family or their new job, include them in your Christmas email. If using Linked In, consider sending a quick message to 3 different connections each month, asking how they are and keeping in touch. Choose a form of communication which is appropriate to the type of relationship you have with your connection but most importantly - keep the lines of communication open. 

Use the Comments Section below to share any useful tips you have on networking with other Military Spouses: