Build Your Personal Network

This template is designed to help students and professionals map their personal networks and identify the strengths and weaknesses of their personal networks. Within the template, there is guidance incorporated to help guide the user to not only build their network tool but also leverage the time to analyze their current network and visualize social ties.

Users can create multiple relationships to enable users to compare current and future states of networks to help visualize progression and can be tailored to create multiple types of networks (Team networks, client networks).

Helpful Tips:

Once you have completed building out the initial network tool, identify folks that you would like to build relationships with! Are there any mutual contacts that can help you build those relationships?

Following the exercise, reflect on the following questions to identify opportunities to improve your network:

1. Purpose: Who are you truly dependent upon to achieve your goals? Is this network intended to help complete a business process? Are there any additional individuals that would be critical in the future who are not listed yet?

2. Structure: Did you identify any mutual contacts that could serve as a "bridge" to improve the relationship with a "weak tie". Do you see opportunities to also serve as the bridge for one of your team members?

3. Network Scope: Did the network consist of mostly strong ties or weak ties? Were your contacts mostly external to your team or internal?