Networking - is it the key skill for the 21st century?

摘要

The thought of having to network makes some people shudder, they would rather pull out their toe nails than enter a room full of strangers and promote themselves. Yet we are told how important it is to network, that it is critical to career success. But is it that important and particularly in the public sector, is it essential for success? If it is how do you do it? and how, if you are shy and retiring do you embrace it? In 2000 in her influential research paper 'The Future of Careers', Linda Hol-beche predicted that the key skills for a successful career in the 21st century were: expertise, self reliance, emotional resilience and networking.