Networking for smart dummies
Not too long ago, a wise man I truly respect with business advice, told me: “in business, anything you would say during a normal conversation, will be accepted as networking…“; today I got to prove it.
Someone gave my name as a reference for a service I use as part of my marketing efforts (not to mention that I made some profit out of it) and I managed to turn the call into what seems to be a great opportunity in disguise.
It took me 10 minutes on the phone to learn that everything I’ve heard about the Research Triangle Park in N.C. is true, and at the same time I managed to make a contact in the Marketing world over there, someone nice to talk to and who could open some doors for me.
We have all heard about Networking activities, dinners and such, but could it be that just having your eyes open for the right kind of people would prove more successful than walking around with your resume in one hand and a martini in the other to one of those networking cocktails?
I would like to hear some networking experiences. How do you network your professional career?
July 22nd, 2009 at 2:07 PM
You network in every opportunity you have, more so than just in ‘networking events’.
The purpose of networking is knowing what people do to succeed, and letting people know what you are useful for. It helps if you can keep each other contact information as well.
However… first think about how many people you have contact information from, or how many people have your contact information. Think about how many of those know what skills you have, what you can do. Try to remember if you know what skills they have. Most people can’t answer those questions about everyone on their contact list — I know I can’t answer it from all.
I have found it is easier, and more productive to start networking with someone you already know.