Networking and schmoozing are vital skills in today’s professional world. Here are some tips to keep those contacts rolling in.

To network, you need to do three things: Organize, charm, and keep in touch. If you’re disorganized, you’ll lose your contacts. If you lack charisma, no one will want to be your contact. And if you can’t keep in touch, the contacts are dead. Gone. As worthless as your Beanie Baby collection making love to dust bunnies in the back of your childhood closet.

See, keeping in touch with your contacts is like maintaining a relationship. You have to put effort into it and you have to genuinely care (to an extent) about the relationship. Except in this case, you’re maintaining a relationship with ten, twenty, fifty people.

So here’s how you do it:

1. Create a database to store all your professional contacts. Use an electronic database for easy access, like Microsoft Outlook. Use a rolodex for business cards in addition to your electronic database as back-up, in case your hard drive explodes.

2. D.I.Y. business cards!!! You can get free, aesthetically pleasing cards from vistaprint.com (just pay shipping fees…it’s not as bad as it sounds) or print them yourself. Obviously, make sure you have your full name, mailing address, phone numbers and e-mail address.

If you desire elitist flavor and/or you think it’ll help contacts remember you, put your middle name in. Otherwise, stick to standard-happy first and last.

If you have a professional website, put the address on the card as well. (No Xangas, ytmnd, or MySpace sites, no matter how much you pimped out the page with glittering GIFs and Maxim-worthy pictures of your reflection in your bathroom mirror.)

3. Don’t have a website? Consider creating one. Now. It can act as your personal portfolio. Take a gander at Mr. Giratikanon’s site. Prime example. Everyone should have a site like this. You can put your resume, contact information, and work examples (stories, articles, photos, patents!) on the site for potential employers to see. Google offers free Web hosting without seizure-inducing banner ads at http://pages.google.com. Northwestern used to offer hosting but they no longer do, because they’re dumb.

4. Submit your resume to online job databases. Northwestern provides several resume databases, including sites for student athletes and Medill students. If you don’t belong to one of these circles, try Northwestern University Career Services, Monster.com or CareerBuilder.com. Also, take advantage of our University’s career services.

5. Attend conventions and professional gatherings related to your field. Be prepared to schmooze with, like, a jillion people. You’re the bee, hopefully a charming one, and everyone out there is YOUR potential flower. Except you’re not there to cross-pollinate. You’re there to gather as much pollen as your black-and-yellow bulbous body can carry.

Try this introduction. Read it out loud. (No one cares—just do it.) “Hi, my name is [Dr. Girlfriend], and I am interested in your program / company / position.” If you’re shy, practice before you attend. Beat this ritual into your head until it is second nature to you. It’ll be much harder to turn red if you’re used to this kind of thing.

Bring multiple copies of your resume with you. If you run out of copies, the online portfolio will come in handy.

Dress professionally.

6. Potential connections are everywhere—barbeques, bars, bear cages! Always carry your business cards with you and always be ready to network.

7. Keep in touch with your contacts. If you acquired Lindy’s e-mail at a journalist convention, send her a message about it (something that will open discussion). If your contact information changes, be sure to notify everyone.

8. Be enthusiastic, intelligent and genuine. Employers love enthusiasm (but don’t act like you’re on speed). Let your intelligence shine, since being smart has its obvious advantages. But being genuine? Face it, schmoozing can be a drag and you don’t want to look like a phony. You can’t keep up being fake. When they hire you, they’re going to notice who you really are. Plus, you’re more likely to make a personal connection with your contact if you’re genuine.