Just when you’ve mastered the art of handing out your business card, along comes another way to make connections — social networking online.

Online communities help you make connections for business, dating or personal interests. Specifics vary, but they generally work as follows: a friend or contact invites you to join the service. You may also join by visiting the site and signing up on your own. By joining via an invitation from someone you know you could easily be connected to a network of hundreds of people within seconds. An easy way to find job leads, right? Well, not so fast.

Right choice

Don’t jump at every offer to join a social networking service. Some focus on dating, while others are devoted to professional interests. Many mix business and pleasure: one moment you may marvel at a new-found friend’s taste in tunes, the next you realise she works at the company of your dreams.

But you probably don’t want to devote your time making contacts with 20-something music fans when you’re a 50-something sales executive with no interest in post-ABBA bands.

Rule play

Social networking sites can be like high school, with arcane social customs and rules. Before contacting the colleagues of the friend who invited you to the site, get to know the site’s culture. A casual email introduction may suffice at one site but could peg you as gauche or worse at another.

Perfect profile

Even social networking spots devoted to fun at work can lead to career connections. Make sure your profile doesn’t include anything you wouldn’t want your would-be boss to see. “Potential employers may check out your profile and make a judgment call based on what they see and read,” says a career counsellor.

Not too hard

Many members of social networking groups have had bad experiences with the pushy types. “Be sensitive to individual needs,” says Jenna Gausman, a career counsellor with Kerwin and Associates. “Someone who is too persistent can be annoying and damage his own reputation if he tries too hard.”

Word of mouth

Keep your promises when offering to facilitate a personal introduction or find a phone number. “You must follow through,” says Gausman. And if you express interest in another individual’s help, be sure to follow up on the person’s assistance. “They are giving up a piece of their network, and their reputation is now on the line, so to speak,” Gausman says. “At least reach out to that person.”

Face to face

Social networking sites often connect people offline through individual meetings or group events. Just remember : a face-to-face meeting requires you to respond without the time afforded by email to craft your message. Know what you want from a meeting. Career coach Lynn Berger recommends a brief, prepared introduction for group events.

“This way, the individual does not fumble around and miss the opportunity to make a good impression,” she says.

Help others

Networking is reciprocal. “What goes around inevitably comes around,” says a career counsellor. “When you help people get a job, they’re going to remember you when they hear of a great opportunity that has your name written all over it.”