Never stop networking. Even if you’re currently job searching or you have a position that you believe will be there for you until the day you decide to retire, networking is a wonderful tool to improve your live professionally and personally, no matter what your present circumstances might be.

The primary reason to network is because it gives you the opportunity to meet new people. The more people you know — and the more who know you — the better your chance of using that network when you need it, whether you need a new job or the name of a great dentist.

Most people get the best jobs from people they know. Even if you’re not looking for work now, you may be looking for work sometime in the future. If you have a wide network, you’ll have even more people who can refer you for job openings, to hiring managers, to people who may know people who know people who are hiring, etc.

This is the era of continual learning. Skills become outdated quickly and need to be improved constantly. Meeting others in or out of your profession keeps you on your toes and allows you to learn things you never knew you didn’t know — and needed to learn. Learning goes both ways, of course; don’t be shy about sharing your knowledge with others, too.

Continually networking means people will continually know you exist. When they need a terrific building/coding specialist — or when a friendly firm in another city needs one and mentions it to one of your contacts — you easily could receive a call about a new opportunity, one that will move your career forward even if you’re happy where you are now.

We know the right people at RealStreet Staffing. We know hiring managers at some of the Washington DC area’s best construction, architecture and engineering firms. When you’re looking for a new opportunity, we want to hear from you.