Dear JobsBlog:
I am able to network when I  already have an “in” with someone. But what about networking with strangers?  Do you have any pointers on how to approach contacts you don’t know?

-Scared to Cold Call
 

Dear Scared to Cold Call:
There are many different mediums and places you can meet work contacts: conferences, LinkedIn, restaurants, you name it. I’m not going to go into those, because I think the secret to networking is the same no matter the medium.

And the big secret is not really that much of a secret at all: be genuine, be polite and ASK for what you want!

Here’s a story about how I recently did some networking with great results…

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