Amitabh Sharma, Features Coordinator

The days of golf club membership or being seen in the cocktail circuit are becoming pass, at least to network.

"Old ways of networking are only suited for a small subset of professionals," observes Francis Wade, a Jamaican consultant and president of Framework Consulting Inc., headquartered in the United States. "Businesspeople who force themselves to attend these kinds of events give networking a bad name."

Wade believes that it is about time that the managers and professionals in the Caribbean upgrade their networking skills to keep pace with the threats and opportunities of Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME).

Moving away from convention, he is advocating an approach that anyone can follow - building on commitments, rather than manufactured interests. Wade suggests 10 tips to the Caribbean managers.

Wade has been working with companies in Barbados, Trinidad and Jamaica to address business issues that have a particularly difficult people dimension. "I have developed some innovative techniques for networking that 'violate accepted wisdom' but are practical and effective," he says.

The bottom line is that professionals must take advantage of the changes coming with CSME and the existence of Internet technology to network in a way that feels natural.

"While our literacy rate in Jamaica puts us at a disadvantage compared to countries such as Trinidad and Barbados, we are often seen as being more assertive and outgoing," says Wade. "We should use this to our advantage."

1 Be brave

Don't follow the crowd, and allow yourself to be distinctly different from everyone else.

2 Know what you are passionate about

Pursue whatever area of interest you have, and become an expert in that, rather than following areas that are popular, 'logical' or even areas in which you have current skills but no real interest.

3 Drop the Miami mind

Think of yourself as a Caribbean professional rather than having half your mind in the U.S.A., Canada or England.

4 Reach out from your interests

Take the areas you are passionate about, and find others in the Caribbean who share them.

5 Ignore distractions

If someone tells you what you 'should' be doing to network, and it doesn't fit your natural interests, ignore them! Also, if the actions you take feel forced or contrived, stop them.

6 Embrace Internet technology

If you have a distrust of new technology or the Internet, overcome it, knowing that your future as a professional is inextricably tied to how you are presented in cyberspace.

7 Google yourself

Use a Google search to see what is already being said about you on the Internet. Make this your baseline.

8 Design an online self-portrait:

Define the online 'portrait' of your accomplishments, skills and interests that you would like people to see on the Internet.

9 Actively participate

Join in and contribute to online discussions related to your areas of interest, especially if they are Caribbean-based. If they don't exist today, create them by sending out invitations to regional partners

10 Write

Find interesting ways to use e-zines, blogs and mentions on web pages to share your thoughts on your authentic areas of interest. Write frequently!

amitabh.sharma@gleanerjm.com