Networking | Career Building
Ace Your Networking Game: Part 2
The Foolproof Networking Strategies That Work Every Time
In this 3-part series, I will go over networking strategies I have been using, as a consultant for over 25 years, and still use now.
The project was launched, and initially, the results were strong. However, after just one month, the numbers started to decline, and the success metrics began to collapse. The team was left puzzled, wondering what had gone wrong. During a regular one-on-one session, the lead UX shared the challenges with the design director, who immediately started contemplating the issue. That afternoon, I received an email asking if I would be interested in joining a new project. I reached out to find out the details. The design director replied that although he wasn’t sure what exactly had caused the decline, he believed that I was the person who could figure it out. If I was available, he wanted me to join the team as a consultant for a minimum one-year period, starting as soon as possible.
If you read part 1 and/or 3, skip ahead to after the section break.
I interpret “networking” to be
Expanding your professional circle to enrich your personal growth and boost your career.
In this 3 part series, I will cover who you need to network with, where to find them, how to approach them, and how to build those relationships over time.
Broadly, I classify the people you network with into three categories:
Mentors
Experts who inspire and motivate you.
They provide insights based on their expertise that you can learn from.
Champions
These individuals bring up your name when opportunities arise.
They might recommend you as an expert or suggest your name for a promotion or job opening when you’re not present.
Peers
These are your colleagues who provide insightful advice and support.
Being at the same level, they can provide you with honest opinions about managers, employers, and hands-on tips, while also relating to your everyday experiences.
For Part 2, I am going to focus on ‘Champions’.
What are ‘Champions’?
In part 1 of this 3-part series, I focused mentors which is a fairly common term that most are professionally familiar with. If you didn’t catch Part 1, about Mentors, you can read it here.
Mentors help you learn the ropes — someone you can look to for professional networking and advice.
On the other hand, Champions are individuals who actively advocate for you when you’re not there. This can happen in a few different ways.
A champion could be a colleague you currently work with, someone who holds a senior position or is part of the decision-making team. They possess the ability to recommend you for new and exciting projects, paid professional development opportunities, nominations, promotions, or simply speak highly of your work. These champions are dedicated to your professional success within your current workplace and are willing to vouch for you.
They could also be someone you have previously worked with. The example I gave above is exactly that. I had previously collaborated with the Design Director, so he knew me, my capabilities, my skills, my talents and was willing to put my name forward without anyone on that team knowing me. He had even put my name forward before they even asked for the help! A Champion who is not your current colleague is someone who keeps you top of mind and actively listens for opportunities where they can endorse your name
Furthermore, a champion can even be someone you have never met personally, but they are familiar with you. They might know you through mutual acquaintances or have come across your online presence as a subject matter expert. They may have even glimpsed at your resume in passing. Regardless of how they became aware of you, they are willing to recommend you based on your reputation.
While there may be other ways to find champions, these are the key ones to consider.
Now, where can you find them?
It may seem fairly obvious, but you would be surprised who may be your Champion.
It’s very easy for someone who knows exactly what you do to recommend you — as that Design Director did for me. But even more valuable is when someone who would be considered a stakeholder recommends you. This means that your reputation has to appeal to, not just those who are your peers, but also those who would be effected by you being part a team or a project.
Consider your interactions with your current team and, perhaps, even beyond that. You may discover individuals around you with whom you can build personal connections and engage in discussions about work and shared interests.
If you are in a role where people in a company may move around every few years, it means that those people now act as your Champion at teams, companies and places you haven’t even worked at yet.
You may also want to start making your knowledge and expertise known online or through publications. This may be as an SME on YouTube or LinkedIn, or maybe you are a quick tip expert/commentator on Twitter or TicTok. However it is that you can expand your reach and awareness of your skills, reaching that audience that does not personally know you is an immeasurable asset. No, it’s quite literally immeasurable because you don’t know how many people are ever really taking it in and spreading the word! But it will show up in unexpected and delightful ways.
Why would someone be your Champion?
You can’t expect everyone to remember everyone they’ve worked with that they liked, or every person that has made a great video, tip or article. So, how do you get people to remember you enough to Champion you?
Be more than is expected.
Think of skills that all your peers don’t have already. Are you a skilled speaker? Are you good at wearing more than one hat on a team? Do you understand concepts that are beyond the usual scope of your work?
Personally, are you easy to get along with? I’ve been cursed/gifted with a loud laugh and a big smile. One of the things most people either find really annoying or super endearing is that I am almost always in a good mood and that good mood tends to be contagious. On my LinkedIn, when I ask for recommendations, it still surprises me how many of them include a comment about that, and so it makes me realize how unusual but appreciated it is.
One of my skills is making people comfortable. In fact, in a recent first-time client meeting, someone actually said in the Zoom how great the presentation was because it felt so casual and easy and they felt like they knew me, so were at ease to ask questions along the way.
Final takeaway
You can ask for someone to be your Mentor, but you can’t ask someone to be your Champion. This is one networking piece that happens organically. You need to earn that reputation with someone. When someone goes to bat for you, don’t let them down because that person put their name on the line for you. If you do well, that person will act as your Champion again for you. More importantly, remember that the rest of that group you worked with could also be your next Champion.
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