Smart networking inside your company can lead to better pay, faster promotions, greater job satisfaction and the ability to find new opportunities.

IN THE 1980s, many people networked intensively with their industry peers. While keeping up with key contacts in your field is important it is just as important for you to cultivate strong personal and professional relationships w here you work. How you network has also changed now. Networking in the 1980s was selfish. The question back then was, What can this person do for me? Networking in the 1990s is the reverse. The question now is, How can I help this other person? The pay-off comes when the person you've helped helps you.

Do a personal network inventory. Map out the relationships — strong and weak — that you already have within your organization. Go through your calendar and Rolodex keeping track of the people you work with, talk to or bump into over the course of one week. Pay attention to the type of relationships you have with those on your list. Some will be task-related relationships with co-workers. Some will be advice relationships with people to whom you give advice or those from whom you receive advice. Some will involve informal socializing relationships. The strongest relationships — the ones that should be at the heart of your network — will involve a mix of all three types. Is your network diversified, balanced between strong and weak links, and built on long run and mutually beneficial relationships? Most important, identify what your network lacks. What are the critical gaps? What are the relationships you should have to get the information or resources you need to get your job done?

Fill your critical gaps. Once you know where the gaps are in your network, start filling them in. Be authentic and genuine as you develop relationships. If you're too obvious, people will see right through you and it will backfire. The best way to initiate a relationship is to let it happen naturally. Meet people at company social events or as part of teams, committees or task forces. Always volunteer for such activities — they provide ways to meet a diversif ied set of people.

Find common third parties. Remember the small world principle. If you don't know someone directly, you undoubtedly know someone who does. They can provide an introduction. If nothing else works, start a relationship with someone by finding some reason to talk to him/her ... some way to contribute to his career. Is there information he needs? Do you have a candidate for a job he is trying to fill — or a team he is trying to launch?

Build a network that is large — and diverse. A large network means you know many people — but most will be within your own specialty. A diverse network includes people from different departments, groups, divisio ns and subsidiaries. If you work for a global company, the right network includes people from around the world. The boundaries between organizations are blurry. A really smart network might include close relationships with your suppliers and customers .

Know your boss. Your most immediate and direct relationship will always be with your boss. Generally, this will be the first link in your network. Use it to practice your networking skills and to learn other s kills such as working successfully with people in authority. Know that it is your right to "manage up," which involves building good relationships with your superiors.

Build around the core. All companies have a core business that is at the very heart of its enterprise. You may work in a manufacturing company that has a service division. But the service division may be viewed as pe ripheral to the company's manufacturing. You must identify the core of your business. If you're not in the center, build relationships with the people who are. Come up with ideas that could help them. Try to set up lunches with a few key people to share those ideas. Or stop by their offices early in the day or late in the afternoon to pass along information. This will establish you as someone to be taken seriously, someone who is truly interested in the core business and someone who is truly inform ed.

Remember your peers. Peers make powerful friends — but dangerous enemies. Peer relationships are complex because they involve a mix of both cooperation and competition. A peer today may be your boss tomorrow — or vice versa. Peer relationships are more important than ever, given the rise of such new corporate styles as multifunctional teams, "network" organizations and horizontal corporations. All replace the traditional top-down vertical hierarchy with a complex w eb of relationships. Peer relationships are not defined on organizational charts, which only define reporting relationships. But they're becoming more and more critical to one's success. The trick to building strong peer relationships is reciprocity. You help others, and you will be helped in the process.

Build a balanced portfolio of strong and weak ties. Strong ties are long-term, durable relationships that involve a lot of interaction. You should have strong ties to your boss, some peers in your area and some peers in departments. Strong ties are stable and dependable. They provide resources, friendships and social support. But just a few strong ties aren't enough. A boss or peer can be promoted or fired. Then you're left without a crucial relationship. You also need less-formal, less-intense "weak" ties as bridges to other parts of the organization and other social circles within the company. Weak ties are good conduits for staying in the know — for finding resources, getting information and finding good people for a team.

Build relationships for the long run. That means being responsible and ethical in your relationships. It means always remembering the secrets for building strong relationships — mutual understanding and mutual benef its. There's a paradox in building relationships for the long run. You must focus less on what you need and want and more on what the other person needs and wants. Try to figure out how you can contribute to the other person's life. I n the process, you'll be helped as well.

Become a critical relationship yourself. You can do things that will make other people want you as a member of their networks. Become a Bridger — the one who is the critical link between groups. This p erson knows the business and inner workings of both groups. Peers often turn to him, making him an extremely valuable player. Join committees that bring together disparate parts of the business. Volunteer for — or start — a multifunctional team. Being a Bridger puts you in a very advantageous position. You contribute to the organization — and make yourself a critical relationship in other people's networks.

Don't make the worst networking mistake — forgetting to network at all because you think you are immune and don't have to do it. You must network inside your company to tap into the informal grapevine and be in the know about as much as possible. You need internal relationships to help you build your knowledge ... to protect you ... to provide allies who will come to your aid and defense.

Finally, you need allies who can spread the word about you. It's no good working hard and smart if nobody knows about it. You need those relationships so people will know that you are doing a really great job.