Perhaps you’ve been sitting around the office and have overheard gossip claiming that one of the managers is “sleeping her way up the corporate ladder” or “just using so and so to get a promotion.” Sometimes this is simply office gossip and people are jealous of quick promotions so they look for an excuse other the simple fact that this woman has been working hard. Unfortunately, sometimes it’s true. There are people that will do anything to succeed; even it means that they step all over people to get there.
There is a fine line between networking and social climbing and it is true that a lot of the time it isn’t what you know, it’s who you know that matters. But it’s how you use those connections that separates networking and social climbing. So how do you make sure you do the former and not the latter and how do you avoid being taken advantage of?
Who will benefit from the connection?
Networking is all about give and take, so if only one side of the partnership is going to benefit, it’s probably not the best type of connection. If someone makes promises that you are fairly certain they would not be able to follow through with in the present, then you should walk away.
Will anyone get hurt?
If there is any likelihood of physical, mental or emotional damage to a person or if the partnership will cause a PR nightmare within a company, nothing good will come of the connection. Before you start working with someone, ask yourself if you can foresee this having negative results. If you can, proceed with caution.
Does this feel wrong?
You have an intuition. Use it. If something feels wrong, then it probably is. Don’t move forward with something, no matter how lucrative it sounds, if you have a sinking feeling in the back of your mind.
