Reid Hoffman- The real way to build a social network

The real way to build a social network

If there is a guru of networking, it is Reid Hoffman. Here he explains how to do it right — and wrong – in an excerpt from his new book with Ben Casnocha, The Start-Up of You.

FORTUNE – Forget Dale Carnegie. He understood how important connections were, but missed out on the authenticity part — which, say Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha, authors of The Start-Up of You, is the key to building a truly helpful professional network. Here’s how to leverage that network into the career you only dreamed of.

Many people are turned off by the topic of networking. They think it’s slimy, inauthentic. Picture the consummate networker: a high-energy fast talker who collects as many business cards as he can and attends mixers sporting slicked-back hair. Or the overambitious college kid who frantically e-mails alumni, schmoozes with the board of trustees, and adds anyone he’s ever met as an online friend. Such people are drunk on networking Kool-Aid — and are looking at a potentially nasty hangover.

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