Networking
Networking…a word that breeds excitement in some and total angst in others. Whether you love it or loath it, it’s part of your everyday life, both personally and professionally, and you’d better figure out how to do it.
Let’s get bad networking out of the way. Actually let’s not even call it networking, let’s call it being lazy. If you’re doing the following things, let’s be clear you are not networking.
Randomly handing out business cards and then leaving
Connecting with strangers on LinkedIn and using the generic message
Follow/like/commenting on someone’s social media post
You don’t ask/talk about the other person or their company at all
Now moving on to what you can do to be a successful networker!
Networking takes two paths, social and work related networking. For those of us who come to networking naturally those two often merge into one, connections become friends, colleagues, clients or referral sources, but that doesn’t have to be the goal.
The goal needs to always be: I want to know about you, so maybe one day I can help you. That’s right folks, it’s not about you it’s about them. When you give attention to someone else, you’re gaining insight; you’re working to make an actual connection and whether the benefit from that comes in the short term, long term or never, meeting and getting to know new people never hurt anyone.
The goal of networking is to build out a long term relationship. You cannot go in asking for something, you need to just talk, exchange ideas, get to know people. Once that initial meeting is over is when the real networking begins.
Here are some tips on how to build that initial meeting into a relationship
Follow up. Got someone’s card? Send them a note the next day; let them know you enjoyed your conversation. If you want to continue the conversation, ask them to meet for a coffee.
Connect on LinkedIn. LinkedIn makes it easy to share interesting and up to the minute articles and jobs. So the next time you find an article that you think will interest your new connection send it to them (privately, don’t tag the person in the post). Use this tactic carefully, start inundating someone and they will disconnect with you faster than you can ever imagine. Do not send a generic LI invite. Write a quick note, make it personal.
Make introductions. If they mentioned they are passionate about something and you know someone in that space, ask them if they want an intro. There is nothing people appreciate more than getting personalized introductions.
Don’t disregard people you meet. Everyone in life knows something you don’t. There is value to all relationships. A student waiting tables and a CEO have little in common until the CEO needs a last minute reservation and the student starts looking for summer internships. Everyone has value even if they can never help you.
It’s about the future not the present. Networking is about building out long and mutually beneficial relationships. You may not “get” anything from someone for years, but 10 years from now you may, and when you do it won’t be because you asked, it’ll be because they actually care.
Remember these key points when networking;
Networking is about developing relationships
It’s not about instant satisfaction but about cultivating long term relationships
Don’t go into a networking event with expectations of immediate benefits
Focus on creating significant professional relationships with other professionals
It’s not just about who you know, it’s also about who knows you and who they know.