Many job seekers fall into the trap of a transactional approach, expecting recruiters to act as personal career counselors.

Following up with your networking contacts is like tending to a garden – when you give it the regular care it needs, you're likely to see your relationships thrive over time, just like you'd water your plants to help them thrive.

“I hate networking.”

I used to believe that.

I didn’t see the point.

It seemed like a waste of time.

It was for salespeople, not someone in my profession.

It seemed smarmy, begging people to pay attention to me.

I believed all of that…once.

But I don’t any longer.

In today's business world, networking is a must if you want to keep your career moving forward. Being an introvert doesn't mean you can't be a good networker. You may have to approach it differently than your extroverted friends and colleagues. With these tips, you can become more at ease with networking and have techniques to make you effective.

Networking can be a powerful tool as part of your job search strategy. If you haven’t already been consistently doing it, you really should start. But be patient. You may not see results immediately.

Salespeople have to hear a lot of "no's" to get to a "yes." They accept it as part of the sales process. As someone that wants to be a successful networker, you have to admit that you, too, will hear "no," which in your case is just silence-no response.

You have taken the step to start networking as part of your job search strategy. You have identified many interesting people that you would like to have as a part of your network. You've spent a lot of time crafting an engaging email. You should have heard something back. Instead, all you hear is *crickets*. What do you do?

Are you embarrassed because you have not kept up with your network? Life got in the way. Now, you hear networking is the key to finding a new job, and you do not know how to get started. How do you avoid the awkwardness of reaching out to people and asking for help when you have not kept up with the relationship?

I am a great believer that you get better results when you do not always follow the herd. That means if everyone is on LinkedIn, there are opportunities to promote your personal brand and network on Twitter.