Guides / Concepts & practice
How to Map Your Professional Network
Create a useful relationship map around a goal, with context for each path instead of a raw contact count.
A practical answer
What to know
A relationship map organizes people and context around a goal. It is more useful when it records why a path may be relevant, such as shared work, expertise, or a recent collaboration, than when it simply counts contacts. Review stale paths and ask people before treating a connection as an introduction route.
A thoughtful next step
Try this
Start from one concrete goal and list the roles or organizations involved.
Identify relationships you can appropriately use and the context behind them.
Review stale paths and ask people before treating a connection as a route.
Explore the topic
More guides
- What Is a Warm Introduction?
- Warm Introductions vs. Cold Outreach: How to Choose
- What Are Second-Degree Connections?
- What Is Network Capital?
Read the What is Go-to-Network? pillar guide for the broader approach, or explore all network guides.