Today, building your career means participating in remote networking. as the Covid-19 pandemic has potentially forever changed the way most employees work. Virtual working has created positive and negative effects on daily practices, employee health, and overall success. That being said working from home allows for more flexibility and a better work/life balance. Studies indicate that more than 50% of remote workers want to continue working from home after the pandemic. However, there are growing concerns for individual’s personal and professional future development.

Employees must continue networking internally and externally; in fact, an expert states that 50% of the workers’ jobs should be developing and deepening relationships with their peers or future connections. As Denise Hamilton mentions, «it is very easy in a remote environment to lose touch with the people who have a direct impact and opinion about important decisions such as promotion». Peers need to understand their colleague’s skill sets, such as their strengths and weaknesses when working in a team. This facilitates better separation of tasks and more efficient teamwork. Using platforms such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom to schedule short meetings and interpersonal calls can be an effective way to keep in touch and catch up with a colleague.

Along with networking with peers within the same company, developing relationships with workers from the same industry is also essential. Social media networks, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are growing in popularity. These sites allow workers to develop new connections and create larger circles, allowing workers to keep up with updates and each other in their given fields. Hamilton also mentions that conferences and after-work meet-ups are a great way to network as they allow team members to stay connected outside of the office. Since most hiring managers and recruiters use LinkedIn, it is an effective channel to find new positions and research other companies. This can unlock new opportunities, especially when working from home where there are fewer face-to-face interactions.

Social media is also an efficient tool to increase engagement and visibility of personal and professional work. Employees should use their networks such as LinkedIn and Twitter to share content, updates, and opinions about specific topics relevant to them. Workers should build their professional brand online by showing how they stand out from others in the industry and how they are marketable. To gain visibility on social networks, workers should create quality content, publish at the ideal time for their audience, include calls to action, interact with their followers and collaborate with similar accounts.

As a result, connecting with co-workers and industry leaders is essential to make work visible for potential future career developments. Attending congresses, talent conferences, and chatting with people in person is less common, so making your online presence on networks for remote networking is essential.

References:

1. Building Career as a Remote Worker, September 2021, Welcome to the Jungle.
2. The Rise of Working from Home, April 2021,
3. Gaining Visibility on social media, July 2021, Cyberclick.