Why Networking Everywhere?
Every person out there in the room giving you advice for acing up in your career, would have talked about “Networking”, but never do they tell you how?
If you have also come across such a suggestion but failed to act, you are at the right place! In the next few minutes, I will be taking you to a networking overhaul that will enable you to excel in your professional talks! And with the right amount of motivation too.
Through this article, you will get answers to the What, Why, and How of Networking in a Professional Career.
Answering the What
Networking is about building strong relationships with people of similar or complementary interests, with both self-growth and mutual benefits in mind. But people often confuse it with small talks in the office or an event. Some people think that Networking is asking to push your CV further in your career domain or it is about begging for favors, which is a wrong way of thinking about it. Networking is more of establishing and nurturing long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with the people you meet professionally.
Answering the Why
“The richest people in the world look for and build Networks. Everyone else is trained to look for work.” — Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad Poor Dad
Experts say that the most connected people are often the most successful in their personal as well as their Professional Life. Now, that could be your first guess as to why people ask you to Network. But there is more to it, just by talking to someone in your domain of career interest and with people who are at different levels of expertise, you tend to know — Firstly, about the latest trends in the market and secondly, what is in demand. With both these things combined, it can lead you in the right direction of career path, which otherwise you would not have thought of. Of course, a few google searches here and there would also give you relevant information, but it cannot be very specific to your geographical proximity and personal aspirations. It so can also happen that through these Interactions you cling on to one of your future career Mentor, who you would have never met otherwise.
Apart from this, it also helps you build confidence, by continually putting yourself out there and meeting new people, you’re essentially stepping outside your comfort zone and building valuable social skills and self-confidence.
Do they sound like reasonable benefits of Networking to you?
Answering the How
Jumping right into How to start Networking, what are the steps to take, and What to look for.
- Define your agenda
Before you start looking for people to extend your Network, you must decide on why you are doing so; it could be — to get insights about the company you want to work for in the future, you are inspired by someone and want to know their best practices, you are looking for recommendations, you are interested in the same technology as the other person is working on or simply because you liked someone’s work profile and want to learn something in general. It could be anything, but before starting to exchange your talks you must be clear in your head about it. This particularly helps in formulating the right set of questions and hence receiving relevant answers in return. But make sure not to bombard them with questions, especially when you are meeting them for the first time. So start slow but eventually put your question one by one at the right moments, this can help to build stronger connections as well.
2. Use the right Application
In this post-Covid-19 world, it becomes difficult to meet people physically, which can restrict your Networking desires. For this reason, you can make use of applications such as “Meetup” and “Eventbrite”, they always have some event happening either virtually or physically with limited participants. You could also try to volunteer at these events and get to know the Organizers and the speakers. It could be a good place to start with. And don’t forget to become significant in the lives of people you meet at these events, for this try to follow-up within 3–5 days.
Note: Don’t miss getting their contacts/ business cards.
3. LinkedIn is a friend to keep
The benefits of LinkedIn are not hidden from anyone. Before you start using it for knowing more people, make sure your profile is up-to-date and it has the latest technology stack you are working on or willing to work on. Your next step would be to find a company you want to work for or have future aspirations. Then look for any of your University Alumni working at these places as they could be a comfortable point of contact to you. If not, then reach out to someone who has a similar interest in terms of technology you are working on. In both these cases, while sending the connection request make sure you give a very brief introduction about yourself and one reason as to why you would want to connect with them. Don’t make that reason as — I like your profile, I want a job, forward my CV, etc. Instead, look for what they are working on and you could say — you are also working on the same thing and it would be good to extend Network or say you like what they are doing and would want to know more about how to start with it.
4. Be Visible
The most important of all the tips is to be Noticeable at various events or within your community so that people know you exist. And it requires efforts to do something that make people acknowledge you. Some of the visibility tips would be — active blogging, Sensible posting and commenting on LinkedIn, meeting the Event Organizers, helping in the open-source communities like — Stack Overflow, GitHub, etc. Remember, this doesn’t happen within days or weeks but takes time for you and your work to be known to the people in your community hence, be patient and keep taking one step forward at a time making yourself perceptible by your work.
5. Just talk!
The last tip is being yourself. Every person has their own charm and a way of communication. If you are an introvert, start small with virtual events, and then when you get comfortable you could start with the physical interactions. For people who are outgoing and like meeting people, make sure you don’t talk to everyone too, be choosy with whom you spend your valuable time exchanging ideas.
