Surprisingly, I just received email from a former colleague that hasn’t said boo to me in years. Now that she’s been displaced from her job, she wants my help (and I assume others) to connect her to new opportunities in other corporate accounts. Hum. I’m all for lending a helping hand…

AND I think it’s just a tad rude to ask me to do something for you when you haven’t kept in touch, nor did you offer to do anything for me in return.

People please don’t let this be you. I am empathetic to people finding themselves suddenly out of work. But it is up to you to keep your network fresh and to stay in touch with people regularly even IF you have a great job today. Lack of time cannot be your excuse. Not when you have plenty of social tools to make your life just a little bit easier.

Remember, you never know when you might need someone’s help down the road. If you haven’t done your part cultivating the relationship, then don’t expect a lot when you need something.

I have the pleasure of being a guest blogger over at the Consultative Sales and Sales Management Professionals of Canada site. What a classically great example of the power of social networking through communities like LinkedIn. Marshall Northcott (editor) and I connected over LinkedIn. He liked my comments in groups and my blog posts and he invited me to join his team of guest bloggers. It may have taken me all of 5-seconds to say yes:). As a long time sales professional, Marshall has great insights about selling, but today he posted something just a little bit different. This one is all about what you are probably doing wrong if that job is still eluding you! The principles apply to closing deals by the way, so READ THE POST and leave a comment if you are so inclined. If you like…please pass on the love by ReTweeting!