Networking skills contribute a lot to having a successful career, perhaps as much as 75 percent, however many Vietnamese professionals are sadly lacking in these skills, reports Caravat.com.

A recent survey by the country’s leading social network on over 8,000 businesspeople, both locals and foreigners, who are working in Vietnam , showed that the average networking IQ of the Vietnamese respondents recorded 48 points while foreigners amassed 52.

The Executive Manager of Caravat.com Thanh Nguyen said that those individuals who had a high level of networking IQ would find more opportunities to advance their career, as they know how to establish relations and gain access to more information to promote their businesses or advance their careers.

Van Anh, the Executive Manager of the Navigos Group, a leading human resources provider in Vietnam , said that low networking IQ reflects the limited quality of Vietnamese human resources, as well as the large gap in human resources between Vietnam and developed countries.

The survey, conducted from May 6-24, also showed that although employees in foreign invested companies have better networking abilities compared to their colleagues in the State-owned sector, their networking IQ are still lower than those in private domestic companies, especially those in high positions.

Directors of foreign invested companies have a higher level of networking IQ, so they focus on setting up relationships within their companies and only to a few external contacts that they consider to be important. Meanwhile, directors of private domestic companies are more proactive in establishing relations with people they don’t know, at many different levels and in many specialist areas.

“This, in the long run, gives them (private companies) many advantages and explains how this group are more likely to be successful, compared to the directors of foreign invested companies, when they have to make a significant career change or start up a new business,” noted the survey.

Unlike the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) and the Emotional Quotient (EQ), which are influenced by genes and often remain unchanged for life, networking IQ can be improved by adjusting attitudes and practicing networking routines and other soft skills.

To meet this need, Caravat.com has cooperated with two leading training centres, the John Robert Power Image Consultancy Centre and Dale Carnegie, a business school, to organise a workshop entitled “maximise success potential by increasing networking IQ”, scheduled to take place in the Renaissance Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City on June 17. The workshop will then be held in Hanoi on July 1.

Established in August 2008, Caravat.com attracts more than 30,000 executives and experts from over 9,000 leading companies. Caravat’s $1,000plus Executive Jobs, is the only employment portal in Vietnam , that focuses on management jobs with salaries starting from 1,000 USD./.