{{B}}NETWORK YOUR WAY TO SUCCESS{{/B}}
That (0) ... saying, 'It's not what you know, it's who you know' sums up what may well be the most important (19) ... of climbing the business ladder. Diligence, competence and experience are fine (20) ..., but they are not enough.
While this is no great secret, the fact (21) ... that skilled workers are few and (22) ... between - get business success depends on informal networking and sociologists have (23) ... that the majority of top jobs in the US are obtained through it. A vast (24) ... of jobs are never advertised and of those that are, many have already been (25) ... to someone known to the company. These processes (26) ... not just to industry but to the government and public sector as well.
Potentially, colleagues, superiors, business friends, customers, suppliers can (27) ... a networker with information, addresses and open doors that. make the difference between stagnation and a rapid rise. Nonetheless, as a communications trainer in Germany put it: 'Many people just do not know how to (28) .... develop and foster promising relationships.' For some, networking (29) ... just too time-consuming or stressful. Such individuals shut themselves in their office and minimise (30) ... with the outside world. They may do a great job of work, but they are unlikely to make great career strides. Other would-be networkers (31) ... instant results, make a real nuisance of themselves, or network in too limited an environment. There are plenty of other classic errors, ranging from a failure to (32) ... favours, to the converse - networking with opportunists who themselves never deliver.
Effective networking does not just happen. It is a conscious process of developing links which {33) ... creativity, energy and commitment. Learning to do it will pay dividends.