Mastering the Art of Networking
In the age of social media and ‘swipe rights’, the art of handling a face-to-face conversation with a stranger has become more and more foreign to the modern-day millennial.
Whilst the term ‘Networking’ has been thrown around like a buzzword amongst professionally charged students and cross-faculty industry members, it’s often hard to feel more ‘suave’ than ‘sitting duck’ when you’re fighting for the attention of one person amongst a crowd of ambitious university students eager to climb the career ladder.
As a fourth-year student, I can confirm that I use to despise networking (Even the canapés wouldn’t be enough to lure me in). Over the years, however, I’ve slowly shifted my perspective on my love-hate relationship with Networking. Whilst, I am — by no means — a professional at networking, I’ve attended my fair share of networking events (the good, bad and ugly) and I’ve collected a good amount advice for those that are still new to the networking scene.
If you are a seasoned pro, you can use this blog post as a mental checklist for all the things you’ve been doing right whilst you procrastinate completing your assignments. It’s win-win, either way.
Tip #1: Update your LinkedIn
Even if you would rather stick a pin in your eye than update your achievements on your LinkedIn profile, I guarantee it will pay off. Your LinkedIn profile is electronic resume and probably the only information a prospective employer has of you after they meet you. The way your LinkedIn is constructed sets the tone for how you will be perceived by someone in the industry. Be mindful not to update things that don’t translate well towards your professional goal.
It’s good to include things that you are passionate about (e.g. Volunteering) because it demonstrates to an employer that you aren’t just a mindless university-loving robot, but think about the image that you are cultivating when you update your profile and maybe leave “Pub Crawl Grand Final winner 2014” off your list of achievements.
Tip #2: Research, Research, Research
One of the best things about networking is that you have all the control before an event. It’s almost like studying for a test beforehand with the entire cheat sheet in front of you.
The industry members that are attending these events don’t know about you yet, but you can get to know them in a few clicks. The internet is your best resource to glean over details of their firm (E.g. What does the firm specialise in? What different types of divisions do they currently have in their firm?), track their latest milestones, run through their professional career, and mentally take notes on anything and everything you would like to ask them in advance.
It’s useful to let these questions loiter at the back of your mind as an afterthought because it will aid you in creating more fluid conversations. Your subconscious works in marvellous ways and often saves you in stressful situations.
Tip: If you’re new to networking, and are prone to the occasional ‘mind blank’, write your questions down on a piece of paper (maximum 5) and keep it in your pocket as a safeguard.
Tip #3: Go with the flow
Once you start a conversation with an industry member, let the conversation flow normally. Don’t panic and verbally vomit all over them. This isn’t a battle of who can ask the most questions, it’s always quality over quantity.
- You shouldn’t be mindlessly reading off prepared questions on a palm-card, instead, you should allow the conversation to naturally progress. The person you are trying to engage with isn’t a machine trained to spit out answers, they’re a person with their own quirks, thoughts and ambitions.
- Make an effort to know them organically and naturally without sounding pre-rehearsed. The questions you prepared beforehand are to be used as guides. A useful tip to ensure a conversation flows is to ask leading questions (open-ended questions). Open ended questions will grant you more time to come up with your next question whilst also aid in giving you more insight into their experiences and individual challenges.
- If the conversation veers off and starts touching upon less professional subjects, don’t be alarmed. Chances are, they like you enough to share more personal information about their life. You’re on the right track!
Tip #4: Avoid the ‘me me me’ syndrome
The hardest skill to adapt in a networking environment is self-awareness. It’s easy to get caught up in excitement or nervousness when you finally get a chance to speak to someone who has your dream job, but nobody enjoys the company of a self-indulgent hog with no regard towards their peers.
Be mindful that there are other students waiting their turn to speak to an industry member. If you’ve exhausted all your questions, politely thank them for their time, get their business card and shuffle along so that other students are given a chance to ask their questions.
Networking events aren’t about asserting the most dominance in a conversation, you’re also being assessed on how you act in group situations. Be on your best behaviour.
Tip #5: Don’t be subtle, Sell yourself!
This is a given as it’s the whole point of a networking event. Be genuine and be honest about your achievements. You are your own asset and the way you verbalise yourself, speaks magnitudes about the value you can bring to a prospective firm. Don’t under-hype/overhype yourself with things that you haven’t done, or boast about skills that you don’t have, but make sure you word your achievements in a professional and elegant manner.
It’s not about how you trick or coax industry members into noticing you. They want to understand you as a person. Why would you want to fake being something that you’re not and feel miserable in a job that doesn’t align with your organisational fit anyway?
Tip #6: Follow up
Again, common knowledge. However, students rarely seem to do this. Statistics show that over 80% of students refrain from contacting an Industry member after a networking function.
Don’t fall into that blunder. Be the minority, show up and impress them even after the networking event is over. Send them a message on LinkedIn within 48 hours to thank them for their time, and try and reconnect with a past point of conversation while the memory of you is still fresh in their mind.
Don’t be afraid to ask if they would be interested in answering a few extra questions over coffee. Industry members don’t go to networking events oblivious to the fact that students will chase them up- it’s expected. Take advantage of it and get to know someone on a more personal basis.
Tip #7: Continually self-improve
Practice networking in everyday life. Networking isn’t something that can be mastered on the first go- it’s an ongoing life skill. The best way to truly master something is to work on it day by day until it becomes the norm.
If you already get anxious talking to more than four friends (let alone an entire slew of industry persons), try and work up the courage to introduce yourself to someone new a few times a week. It could be someone at the bus stop or the old lady having trouble getting cans off the top shelf at the Coles. There are opportunities to network and meet wonderful people everywhere if you choose to look. After a period of consistent mingling, networking won’t feel like a chore and you will start to enjoy the conversations created with everyone, especially in a professional setting. I guarantee it.
My final words,
Navigating the territory of networking is scary. It’s stressful and painful at times when all you want to do is shake industry members and yell “Hire me, dammit!”. But the rewards that come with networking are exponential.
Through networking, you will meet interesting people, you will be exposed to a multitude of opportunities and you will always learn something new (whether it be life advice or professional quips). Navigating the networking territory requires you to be self-aware and motivated. Never turn down the opportunity to find better ways to network and communicate, it will only help you in the future.
Take charge of the change you want to see in your life, chase it in the right directions and don’t look back. Good luck!
Written by,
Lydia Wan
