You ever go to a career seminar / "networking" event?  You know, the kind job seekers outnumber recruiters and keynote speakers about 100:1 where you end up networking with people in your shoes that can't really help you find a job? Well, these seminars are designed to give you job hunting tips and strategies with an emphasis on building your networking.

By now, we've all heard how important networking is. ( If you haven't, then here are some great articles on how to make your social or professional network work for you hooray! )

One approach to networking that I hear very often is that you never know who you'll meet so you need to try to meet everyone and leave them with a good impression i.e. try to impress everyone that you meet because you might need them eventually.  Personally I think you should try to do this not because you might need them down the road, but just to be  courteous and amicable in general... Yeah, some people are able to shoot the sh*t with just about anyone and gain their affection instantly, but the truth is that this strategy is not that practical and extremely inefficient for those of us who are not "social networking butterflies".

So how do you network then? - probably not at a career event.
Theres lots of of strategies on Professional Networking.

My favorite perspective is that you should be networking in your daily life when you don't have a particular purpose or motive (or at least it when it isn't obvious as it is at an Career Networking Event). Here you can express  interest in other peoples' business without the superficiality of a networking event. Your network should be of people who know you personally and can testify about your quality of work and your strengths - not someone who may recognize your name. (Caveat - of course if you are able to convey all this to someone in one brief encounter, then your way ahead of the game!)

Personally, I am a work in progress when it comes to networking. In all honesty, I'll never be the guy that knocks the socks off the recruiter at Career Day-  it's just not in my nature.
I prefer to not force relationships and let them develop naturally. So in my daily life, if I encounter someone that might be able to help my career, I'll write them down in my notebook and do some homework on him/her. I know I am not able to carry on a great conversation on the spot so I do some prep work.  I make a list of questions or relevant topics so that I am ready to carry on an interested conversation when I encounter them next time.

Introverts often say "I just don't know what to say when I am with *(important person)*".  Thats ok, I totally understand that, but if you are really interested in getting to know them, then find some topics you would like to ask them about and be prepared the next time you see them. 

Your network can't be built over night, but with the right approach, it only takes some time and effort on your part.