Michelle Graham Day, Contributor

Technology at hand can be effectively used to increase visibility and also as a tool to reach out to people. Instead of just shooting the breeze in catch-up emails, use them to keep network contacts, friends and family informed of major events affecting your professional life throughout the year.

This could be a presentation you're giving at an upcoming conference, the link to an article you wrote that is now published in a newspaper, magazine or trade journal, marriage (particularly for females if their professional name now changes), the birth of a new baby in your household (can be with the ubiquitous newborn pictures so people can share the warm fuzzy feelings, and particularly useful if you will be out of office on maternity or paternity leave), etcetera.

You can also send a single email to a business contact in an area you will be travelling to soon, as a way of inviting them to do lunch or drinks after work, and a way of informing them of your professional activity, even if you are just there for a long overdue vacation from work.

Think of every email to professional contacts as a way to forward your career, and treat it as such. That means no (or at least no serious) grammar and spelling errors, no potentially offensive comments that you wouldn't make to them if they were a coworker next door to you, proper greeting and conclusion (unless you know each other well enough to relax this formality), and most of all, create a signature, which brings us to the next network building tip.

Create a signature

Using the 'Options' function in your email, locate the link that will allow you to edit your signature, and check whatever box allows your email system to automatically include the following information (that you will type into the signature box yourself) below every email you send:

Your name

Your professional title

Organisation

Work address

Work phone

Cellphone if it is used for work or

you are not often at one set location

Work fax

Work email

Make sure, of course, that these are current, as many who do not make full use of their email address books will easiest be able to reach you for opportunities and their own networking needs by checking for the last email you sent them.

This is much more time-effective than forcing people to have to hunt for one of your earliest communications with them to find your contact information. It's like an omnipresent, virtual business card. You can even spice it up by adding a logo, particularly if you head your own company. You can also stick the complete web page URL in the signature for any site you would like to direct traffic to, whether your company's, or your personal professional page, or your own entrepreneurship activity.

Move with the times

The need to maintain networks in this busy world is the reason for social networking sites. Join a site or two, take the time to get accustomed to how it works, and start making good use of it.

Use it to expand your network: find old college and high school (even primary school) friends, old/current/potential coworkers, even relatives who are not always in touch, especially ones overseas. These sites also provide an immediate way to inform people of what's going on with you, both in words and pictures, with or without email contact. Some people will use these more than they use email.

The caveat here is that not all ways of keeping in touch are professionally productive, for example instant messages. While you want to be available, you do not want to be TOO available.

Don't forget the real-life networking basics

Phone calls, professional business cards, and good old face time (whenever possible) are still the foundation of any good network. Call when whatever you have to discuss would involve too many detailed email messages back and forth in a short period of time.

Always have business cards on you, every day, everywhere you go.

Students especially and all entrepreneurs (self-employed) must create a professional-sounding, professional-looking email address to use in the professional world, and keep it for a separate purpose from sexy or unsophisticated personal email names.

Face time goes without saying; nothing in the world beats physical human interaction for initiating, developing, or maintaining network contacts. Even online the first thing that helps to draw people to you is the ability to see your picture.

Underlying all these tips is the basic fact that you need to be someone who adds value to people's lives, just as your network should add value to yours. All this goes back to the old saying 'To have a friend, you have to be a friend.'

Michelle is a former student at Vaz Prep, and is graduating with her MBA in business management in 2008. She can be reached at michellegrahamday@yahoo.com.

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