Networking

Why Networking is More Relevant and Critical than Ever in 2025 – Today’s UK Context:

  • The UK job market remains highly competitive, with ongoing economic uncertainty, rapid technological change, and evolving hybrid work patterns continuing to reshape the employment landscape. While opportunities exist, employers are being more selective and recruitment processes are increasingly digital and data-driven. To secure a role, candidates must do more than simply submit online applications — they must be visible, connected, and proactive.
  • Relying solely on job boards or “Apply Now” buttons dramatically limits your chances. Many roles are filled through recommendations, internal referrals, or professional connections before they’re even advertised.
  • Networking provides crucial advantages — it helps you access hidden opportunities, verify the credibility of vacancies, and gain insights into company culture and recruitment priorities before you apply.
  • For employers, the competition for top talent remains fierce. Building and maintaining professional relationships allows businesses to identify, attract, and retain exceptional people — a vital driver of long-term performance and innovation.
  • Any approach to networking must be professional and strategic. When a contact requests your CV or profile, it needs to be sharp, current, and tailored precisely to the opportunity. In today’s market, being well-connected and well-prepared is no longer optional — it’s essential.

What is Networking:

Some argue that networking is an art-form and is not easily grasped by Service people because someone who practises it is commonly perceived as being smarmy - or in military speak a ‘thruster’.  To that we say it is definitely not an art-form – it is communication (ie. creating the conditions for a dialogue) between like-minded people; a facet of military service that exists in everything we do.  Some soundbites to grasp about Networking:

  • A key part of securing your next role and without it, or understanding how it works, you are significantly disadvantaging yourself in your search.
  • A long game; it is not a one-time transactional activity.
  • It is not all take; it is about giving and receiving – and being grateful and appreciative of the time, advice and support others give you.
  • It is not about amassing hundreds of virtual contacts; it is about being selective and having a reason and the capacity to engage and communicate directly with those contacts.
  • A continuous activity you never stop, even when you are in a job; you never know when you might need it to advance yourself or when you might be able to help somebody else.  Constantly keep your network refreshed and up to date.
  • Neglect Networking and you might find that it is too late after being made redundant or you have missed a B2B opportunity or personal advancement in the job market.  

Networking with The List.

The List exists to enable Members to fashion and create their own employment and business leads by being able to communicate initially through The List database – this database is the bedrock of our USP (unique selling point).  That is the start point – thereafter our monthly face to face networking meetings – The Liquid List – provide the forum in which to explore and exploit the full benefits of face to face networking.  This Forces, and ex-Forces and Veterans, network is far more powerful and effective than any other because: 

  • you are talking to like-minded people who understand your Forces/Services experience,
  • you have common values as them
  • you speak the same language as them; the initial icebreaker – or ‘tribal’ handshake - is easy.
  • they want to meet you and share ideas
  • they want to help you.
  • they will go out of their way to give you extra competitive advantage as you enter, and subsequently exploit, the commercial world.

There is no other group of people who have that natural and instantaneous understanding with others from the same community on such a scale.  Depending on your circumstances, we network to:

Essentially these can be divided into virtual and face to face.  With the increasing reliance on the virtual spectrum, people still buy people so face to face networking and meetings remain of critical importance.

How you combine your specific need with the means is the trick in today’s digitally instant and fast paced society.  You will soon establish that a mix of online and social media, personal friends, colleagues and acquaintances, specialist organisations and finally face to face meetings all combine to optimise your network.

Networking is time consuming; time is a precious commodity especially if your ‘target’ is a busy individual; always bear that in mind. 

So, if you want pure information, advice and guidance (IAG) go wide initially and start with creating ‘virtual’ connections through The List and use the public domain, like LinkedIn.  LinkedIn is informative; people use it freely and there is helpful advice and debate.  If you have a question or want advice about where to get something or how to go about it – post it into The List Group on LinkedIn.  You will get a variety of responses – some short and sharp from busy people who want to help by quickly pointing you in a direction either way each response is a lead.

Moving on to the other needs; these are best done selectively to specific targets that you have researched in depth.  It is in satisfying these other needs that The List makes a vast network immediately available to you. 

The ability to approach somebody directly through The List in a specific employment sector, in your town or county or in a similar business is unrivalled and is the USP of The List.  Yes, you can start a ball rolling through The List database but the personal approach and subsequent interaction, often in follow-up meetings, are powerful tools that deliver direct and immediate advantage to you over those who are ‘cold calling’ without a natural connection, or affinity, with the target. 

And for the job seeker, networking complements and supports the other routes to a job – if you do not network you are trying to do something without the best tool in the box.  

Creating a network will be to your direct advantage and gives you immediate access to thousands of ex-Forces people (Veterans) in the workplace and allows you to create and fashion your own employment leads and will ultimately form the basis for your success in the business world.

Now try Networking with The List; to be able to see the results you will need to upgrade your membership via your List account.