Eyes in the back of your head

Ever have the feeling you're being watched? Good. Because even if nobody is actually watching you, it's a good reminder that, if you have been diligent at building your network, you should be behaving yourself so that every one of your contacts would be proud to know you.

At the risk of sounding paranoid, a good rule to live by is to watch what you say, how you say it, and to whom you say it. Whether you are aware of it or not, each action you take in your career life will either contribute to a positive reputation or take away from it. The goal of networking is to create a positive impression of you to increase your career mobility. And so even when you are not actively networking, you must be on your best behaviour. Loose lips really can sink ships and crude jokes in coffee room are not be the best way to move up the corporate ladder.

The funny thing about networking is that the more years you work and the more people you meet, the smaller the world gets. All of a sudden there may be more people that know you before you know. And when your reputation preceeds you, let's hope it rolled out the red carpet and didn't shut the doors of opportunity.