Do specific types of networking predict specific mobility outcomes? A two-year prospective study

Previous research has established a general relation between networking and career outcomes, as postulated by theories on protean careers and career self management. We suggest that specific facets of networking behavior differentially affect specific career mobility outcomes over time. In a 2-year prospective study, we examined the impact of six facets of networking on the likelihood receiving a promotion, changing employer, or remaining in the current position. Results show that internal networking is related to promotions and change of employer, whereas external networking is only related to change of employer. Moreover, internal networking shows a differential relation with the temporal proximity of promotions where using internal contacts predicts promotions in the first year and building and maintaining internal contacts predict promotions in the second year. However, this temporal pattern did not hold for external networking, where only maintaining external contacts predicted change of employer in the second year.