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When people hear the word networking, they often think of going to events and joining association. But just as important (if not more important) is networking at work.
Work networking is different though and often happens in weird places. Here’s my 5 best places to network at your agency
1) Local Starbucks – Ahh…your local Starbucks is filled with people just like you. If you hit it during rush time, you are bound to see a colleague. A great way to catch up, see how they are doing, and hear about their project.
2) Cafeteria – Not all gov’t agencies have them but the ones that do…are perfect for networking. It’s kind of a glorified high school with different cliques but try to sit at different tables and meet lots of groups.
3) CFC – Combined Federal Campaign is the federal government’s annual charity drive. You know the time when there are countless candy drives, coin wars, and more. Volunteering for CFC is a great way to interact with people outside your division.
4) Retirement and Going-away Parties – By celebrating someone else’s departure is a good time to connect with those still staying there. The best retirement and going-away parties get great turnouts across lots of departments. Have a slice of cake and diet coke and network.
5) Elevator – The simplest, most used, and most effective…is the elevator ride. I don’t know how often the elevator was useful for me when I ran into someone I hadn’t seen, needed help from on a project, or met for the first time.
What’s your top 5 work places to network?
Also here are some other top 5’s of mine:
– Top 5: Best Places to Have a Government Job
– Top 5: Worst Places to Have a Government Job
– Top 5: Tips on Teleworking
– Top 5: Gov’t Shows That Should Exist
– Top 5: Worst Things To Say in A Meeting
– Top 5: Ways To Handle A Broing Meeting
– Top 5: Signs You Need A New Job