Published: October 16, 2016 by Jill Klees

You spend a lot of time learning how to network, practicing your networking skills, and following-up with your new networking connections but how can you keep these connections alive over time? Great question! I get asked this question often and it is not as hard or as time consuming as you might think.

Now these aren’t tips you do with everyone in your network. That would be time consuming! These are tips you use with those people that you have a solid connection with and you wish to keep the connection alive.

1. Send a birthday or holiday greeting – get in the habit of keeping track of birthdays, holidays, or special dates for your connections. Add them to your calendar each year. When the special day rolls around, send an actual hand written card or personalized email message to make a statement or the use of LinkedIn and Facebook to send your well wishes works too.

2. Let them know what’s up with you – finishing your MLIS, getting a new job, or changing positions is an excellent reason to reach out and keep in touch. This also works when you are planning to attend a conference, workshop, or networking event and you are wondering if they will be attending too. These are perfect opportunities to check-in.

3. Invite them to meet-up – reach out periodically (once or twice a year is good) and invite your networking connections to meet for coffee, lunch, or dinner. Sometimes my connections and I plan to meet up for a walk or a hike.

Find what works best and take the initiative to reach out. Be intentional about keeping your networking connections alive and with a little effort, you can easily build this step into your overall networking plan. Happy networking!