Anyone job searching or looking to grow their career can benefit from networking. Professional networking can help you achieve your career goals and make lasting professional relationships.
If you're new to networking or looking to level up your skills, try the professional networking ideas in this guide. They can help you maximize your efforts and increase your chance of success.
The importance of professional networking
Networking is a powerful strategy you can use to find a new job when you're looking for one. If you connect with someone who knows of an open position for your role, they may be more likely to recommend you. Even if you don't get immediate results, networking can set you up for future career connections and opportunities.
However, networking offers additional benefits many people often overlook. By making connections with other professionals, you can:
- Learn new things: Networking introduces you to people with various backgrounds, skills, and insights. If you approach networking with a curious mindset, you can broaden your worldview and gather fresh perspectives and ideas.
- Share your knowledge: Networking is also an opportunity to establish yourself as a thought leader and share your knowledge with others. You can build your network and deepen existing connections by participating in group discussions, sharing your opinions, and offering advice.
- Help others: While people often view networking as a way to help themselves, it's important to remember that it can be more than that. Whether you give people your ideas, offer up your skills for a project, or support someone through a tough time, helping others can be a rewarding way to connect. If you put in the effort, you can form mutually beneficial relationships that last.
15 top networking tips and tricks
Meeting many people is essential to networking, but your efforts may fall short without the right strategy. To effectively network and meet your career goals, you must be intentional about the events you attend and the techniques you use. Use the following professional networking tips to ensure you meet the right people and make a good impression.
1. Prepare your materials
Networking can open up opportunities if you're prepared to promote yourself. Prepare well in advance by updating your resume, creating unique business cards, and practicing your personal pitch. Think of your pitch like a commercial advertising your core strengths in under a minute. Armed with these tools, you'll be ready to market yourself to potential employers on the spot.
2. Establish a professional online presence
Online social platforms can help you find a job or connect with other professionals. However, creating and maintaining a professional online presence is important, as it can impact people's perception of you. Examine your online identity across social platforms, websites, and search engines. You can maintain a positive image by removing content, changing privacy settings, and keeping information current.
3. Research employers in advance
If you know someone you want to work for will be at an event you're attending, take the time to do some research. Look into their role and company and dig deeper to find the business's core mission and values. Knowing this information beforehand can help you have more impactful and meaningful conversations and showcase your interest.
4. Attend networking events
In-person and online networking events are some of the best ways to make connections within your industry quickly. If you're already attending some events, try joining new ones to diversify your network. You can also look into local recruiting events hosted by companies you're interested in working for.
5. Manage your time
Some networking events run short, making it essential to manage your time effectively. Consider your networking target beforehand and determine how long you have to talk with each person. It can be easy to get carried away speaking to one person on the day, so remember to keep yourself on track.
6. Approach people first
When you attend in-person networking events, it's essential to make the most of your time there. Instead of waiting for others to approach you, walk around and look for people to introduce yourself to. You can even set a goal for the number of business cards you want to collect at the event.
7. Make a good first impression
First impressions count, as they form the foundation of the other person's perception of you. Dress appropriately for the event you're attending, and aim to look professional, even if the dress code is casual. Stand up when people approach you, look them in the eyes, smile, and use a firm handshake to introduce yourself.
8. Focus on making connections
One way to make yourself stand out while networking is to go into conversations with the goal of establishing a connection. While others focus on small talk and business propositions, you'll be getting to know the other person and finding common ground. This strategy can help you leave a lasting impression and form meaningful relationships that benefit you in the long run.
9. Ask open-ended questions
Part of making connections with others is having deeper, lengthier conversations. To go beyond small talk, you'll need to ask open-ended questions that encourage people to share more. Practice active listening to uncover potential conversation topics, and then ask a more detailed question. For example, instead of asking what someone does for work, ask them what they enjoy the most about it or what impact their work has on others.
10. Seek advice
During your conversations with people you admire, consider asking for their advice. Remember, the industry leaders you meet while networking were students and interns once, too. You can learn from their experiences by simply asking about them. Seeking advice from others also shows that you value and respect their opinion.
11. Take notes
When you meet many new people in a short time, it can be hard to remember all the details. This makes it difficult to follow up or refer them in the future. To help jog your memory, jot down key points about your conversation and who they are in a notebook. You could also add some notes to your phone after collecting their contact information or write on their business card.
12. Collect contact information
Make your networking even more effective by requesting contact information from the people you meet. Use this information to build a database of professional contacts you can follow up with or refer to others. Having someone's contact information can also give you the opportunity to add them as a reference on job applications.
13. Refer contacts to each other
If you meet anyone you feel is not the right fit for you or your career goals, consider introducing them to someone else you know at the event. You could also take an extra business card to refer them later on. This is an easy way to make the most of your conversations and help other professionals succeed.
14. Follow up
Networking involves introducing yourself to new people, but following up with them afterward is equally important. Reaching out after an event and regularly checking in can help preserve and grow your relationships. A simple message on social media or via email can go a long way, but you could also ask to meet up to chat about your shared interests.
15. Look into networking communities
To continue networking and discover opportunities closely connected to your career goals, join a local networking community. Many industries create networking communities to help increase knowledge sharing and partnerships between businesses and professionals. Companies also create networking communities to grow their talent pool and share news and insights.
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