To make yourself visible and valuable, join organizations where your peers and potential clients or employers congregate, like ASTD.  Be sure you avoid the biggest mistakes most people make.

1. They join, but don't go. They show up so sporadically that they can't see many benefits from their membership.

2. They skip the networking portion of the meeting, arrive just in time for the meal, and duck out just as the speaker is winding down. Then, they wonder why networking doesn't work for them.

3. They appear, but don't interact. They eat another olive, listen to the speaker, and leave.

4. They wait for others to make the first moves.

5. They talk and sit with people they already know.

6. They think handing out business cards is networking.

7. They make no effort to be visible, instead they try to blend into the crowd.

8. They arrive without any idea of what they have to give or what they want to get.

9. They have "non-conversations" ("Hi, how are you?" "Not bad. How are you?" "Not bad. What's new?" "Not much. What's new with you?") with other members, rather than productive conversations. They violate "good networking" protocols or are unaware of "NETiquette" within the group.

10. They forget that the best way to show their character and competence is to contribute time and energy.