7 Ways to Keep the Conversation Going with Your Contacts

7 tips to help you keep in touch with your contacts when internships and jobs come to an end.

One of the most difficult tasks of networking is keeping in touch with your contacts at the end of an internship or job, so how exactly can you keep in touch with those contacts? Here are 7 tips that will help you keep the conversation going.

1. Social media is more than entertaining
   It goes without saying that all of us spend a lot of time online. Whether it’s Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc. our time spent online can be productive or unproductive, the choice is yours. While we often turn to social media for entertainment, it’s important that you don’t miss out on using it as a chance to engage with your network. Use social media to your advantage. Scroll through your news feed and if you see something interesting take a minute to start a conversation by leaving a comment. It’s important that you make your time spent online just as useful as you do entertaining.
    
2. Get involved
   Attending events is beneficial in many ways. You may find yourself bumping into acquaintances from previous job or internship opportunities, take this is a chance to get up to catch up with familiar faces. Attending events can also give you a chance to meet the pros you’ve always wanted to meet by extending the invitation or approaching them at the event.
    
3. Remember birthdays
   Remembering birthdays is always a great way to reconnect with your contacts. Wishing them a happy birthday via email, by phone or by mailing out a card will surprise your contacts, letting them know you’re thinking of them on their special day.
    
4. Use Google Alerts
   Google will send you emails tailored to specific words that appear in news stories. Alerts can also help you keep tabs on your contacts by keeping up with promotions or company news.
    
5. Ask questions
   One of the benefits of building your network is being able to go to the pros for help. Asking questions is a good way to engage with your existing contacts.
    
6. Be helpful
   If you see a news story or email that you think might be interesting to your contact, share it! Of course you don’t want to spam their inbox, but sharing interesting news is a good way to show you thought of them and want to help in any way you can.
    
7. Stop by, say hello
   It wouldn’t be a bad idea to reach out to your past employer to stop by and say hi. If you’re traveling, be sure to let any contacts in the city you’re visiting know that you’ll be in town. Schedule a coffee date or maybe stop by for a tour if they’re working for a new company or have taken on a new position.