3 Signs Youre Networking Too Aggressively- The Muse

3 Signs Youre Networking Too Aggressively- The Muse3 Signs Youre Networking Too Aggressively- The MuseYou know how important it is to continually grow your network. And you also know that checking in with your contacts a big part of that. In fact, youre willing to put in however much work it takes, because thats just how committed you are. People get busy, things slip off the radar, but youll keep reminding your connections you exist so they have one less thing to remember.Unfortunately, even though you have the right intentions, the actions youre taking are likely to backfire. Thats because theres a tipping point between thoughtful contact and nuisance- and you keep blowing past it. Youve skipped past helpful, breezed by diligent, and now risk being pigeonholed as difficult (even though I know thats the very opposite of who youre trying to be). Thats because staying in touch with you takes too much time and effort.So, check out if any of these scenarios ring a little too true. If yo u identify with these signs, its time to back off. 1. You Have Multiple Points of Contact at the Same CompanyYou know finding an in at a company is worthwhile and so you figure, if one is good, more than one is probably better. After all, if you know the whole staff, youll binnenseem like a natural fit when a job opens up. Maybe you figure different team members will do things differently so making multiple contacts is logical. Or maybe you want to be noticed for your ideas, and this way, even if one person shoots you down, someone else will like what you have to say. Regardless, its not a big deal to send separate emails to a whole department- right, because at the very least, everyone will know you care? Face FactsThis is actually a bad strategy for a number of reasons (not even counting how much time itll take on your end). When the co-workers learn that youve reached out to all of them and theyre basically doing duplicate work responding to you, itll count against you. Additiona lly, youre pretty much saying you dont 100% trust anyone youre contacting. That doesnt make people feel great. The solution is to do your research on the front end and reach out to the staff member who seems most appropriate. If you feel like this person is blowing you off, you can ask if theres someone else whod be better suited to assist you. Still getting the runaround? It may be a sign (or red flag) that the company isnt what it appears from the outside.2. Youre a Double-EmailerWhats a double-emailer? That would be someone who sends two emails in a row, without a response from the other person in between. It doesnt include those times when you forget an attachment or you hit send before you finished typing. It encompasses the situations in which you follow up because you havent gotten a response in your ideal time frame. Emphasis on your.Sure, sometimes you need to follow up within 24 hours (or even sooner), like when some decision is being made or some report is being published and you need the latest numbers or approval ASAP. But, these sort of time-sensitive matters rarely happen in networking scenarios. If your second emails a check-in (e.g., confirming the other person saw the first email, asking if you can send anything else along, saying hi), basically poking and prodding with no hard deadline looming- youre double emailing. Face FactsIf someone isnt getting back to you, odds are shes super busy and your note isnt a top priority. In this instance, your next email will likely be ignored too, until she moves further down her to-do list. Pushing her to get back to you- and sooner rather than later- wont bump you up the list. But it can make you look impatient (or inconsiderate).The solution is to wait at least seven days. At that point, you can send one- and only one- email to see if your contact received your last message. Maybe youll hear back, maybe you wont. But if its the latter, please, I beg of you, dont be a triple or quadruple-emailer. Its not pretty and its not going to change things.3. You Feel Like Youve Been GhostedThis is similar to the situation above in that your connection isnt getting back to you. But it can be even more confusing because it seems straight up out of nowhere. You werent a nuisance last week, so why is this person ignoring you now? In all reality, you probably were overdoing it before, too. But initially, the other person welches uncomfortable telling you to go away. Or, maybe she was dropping hints that she couldnt be as connected as youd like, but after deciding you just werent getting it, she gave up.Face FactsReplying less (and sometimes not at all) is a strategy to get people to send less email. This more drastic measure- not responding in the hopes youll finally get the message- may actually be a last-ditch effort to save the relationship by making it more manageable.So, the solution is to do just that. Its not that you cant ever connect with this person again, but you do need to recognize y ouve burnt her out a bit. So, give it a rest. Dont reach out for a few weeks or even a month, and when you do get back in touch, include something of value for the other person.More isnt always better, and thats definitely true for networking. Its possible to overdo your outreach. So, if you recognize yourself in any of the scenarios above, take a step back. Your contacts will appreciate it- and when you do reach out, youll be more likely to get a response.Photo of people meeting courtesy of Sam Edwards/Getty Images.