@alk005 Ideally you keep in contact by attending events were you keep up and maintain those connections. Getting involved with local groups should be something you do all the time, not just when you are in need of something. Many of the people I meet I will meet again at the next month's meeting or event. Yes, there are some folks I wind up only seeing once a year, but others I'm seeing once or twice a month.
And contact goes both ways. Help out others.
Same with getting involved on-line with online forums, Discord, etc. Share information with others, pass along opportunities you learn about, etc. With LinkedIn, comment on their posts and the like.
To give you a concrete example of how networking works, AND that it can take time to pay off is myself and my current job. I've been here over 3 years. I got the job when my predecessor was looking for his replacement and reached out to me. But he was reaching out for recommendations, not that I would want the job. And he reached out to me as we've known each other in the local industry for many years thru ISSA. We had been officers in the local chapter at the same time for a few years. And I had helped him get into doing work with HITRUST. So all this payed off in my current job, but this is due to a foundation the built up over 10 years or so.
---
Michael Brown, CISSP, HCISPP, CISA, CISM, CGEIT, CRISC, CDPSE, GSLC, GSTRT, GLEG, GSNA, CIST, CIGE, ISSA Fellow
