It is more than just going to a happy hour at a restaurant to visit with other people and enjoy tasty food and drinks.
It is a way of communicating your name and skill set to the business community so that you may improve your personal network.
The key points are not hard and fast rules by any means, but in actuality they are points that I feel that help me when I am out at networking events. I encourage you to try them and let me know what works for you by tossing a comment below.
Make deeper connections.
To be effective in networking, the goal is not in the quantity of people you meet, but in making each person you meet a true connection who knows a little about you and you know a little about them. Essentially what you are trying to do here is to be more than just a business card; you want to be able to remember the name/and story with the face.
Don’t make it all about you.
While your goal is to make connections to assist in your career path, don’t forget those same people probably have the same desire of sharing information that will make you a better connection for them. Many people you will meet will not have the same career path or work in the same industry. However that shouldn’t dismiss the benefit of networking with that person. It never hurts to have many in your network in and outside your career path. It’s always better to have a full network than one that is too little.
Networking doesn’t all happen at Networking events.
For example, if you go to networking happy hours, don’t think that the job is done. Networking is done not only in those engineered events but also during normal day to day life. You might even make connections doing something simple as buying groceries or having lunch with a friend. If you do meet a connection at a happy hour event, make sure to follow up with that connection, reference the part of your meeting that was memorable and connect with them on Linkedin.
Realize that not everyone wants to help.
Often in networking I meet people who show no interest in making a deeper connection, which is ok. Not everyone works the same way as I do or even as you may choose to. It can be frustrating especially when they are key people in the industry in which you work or want to work in. Remember that patience is the key to success in just about everything you do.
It’s more than just Quarterly/ Monthly meetings.
Today even after landing in my chosen career path, I know that I need to continually reach out to my existing contacts, and continue to grow my network. Remember that being complacent will cause your network of connections to become stagnant.
And we all love the call/email from a connection who only reaches out when they need a favor.
Networking resources:
- Being Memorable: Business Networking for Entrepreneurs
- Results are not linear in Social Networking
- How to Find a Job by Building Relationships
- Networking: Doors Open When You Know Someone
- 3 Ways to Make Networking Fun for Introverts and Extroverts
- How to Connect with Employee Referrals, the Source Employers Prefer
- 6 Networking Goals for Other People
- 5 Sure-Fire Networking Follow-Up Tips
Our first in a series of HR posts before the HR CareerConnects event, this one from HR Manager, Gillian Jacob.
