How to Map Your Network
A simple exercise that can help you (1) understand who is who in your direct network, (2) see how your connections are linked and (3) understand what to do next!
Mapping your network is not ground breaking science, nor is it a difficult exercise. Yet, many of us have not seen the benefits of this visual tool and fail to optimize our network’s full potential.
There are several benefits with mapping out your network. You might come to think of people you wish to regain contact with, or you might realize that you have the possibility to help someone and expand your network. Or maybe, you are a recruiter and you need to map out your network in order to find potential candidates.
Take a look at your life today and contemplate on your goals. Who could you reach out to?
Get started
This exercise is fun to do together with a friend or a business partner as they might help you remember corners of your network you forgot, or you can have fun discovering where your networks intersect. Make sure you dedicate some time for this exercise, mapping out your network can take a while.
To start with — make sure you map out people with whom you have had a good relationship with. You can still map out an old best friend from university (even if you haven’t seen each other in years) but “keep it real” and leave your cousins wife's, sisters boyfriend out of it.
- Look at the first picture/model in this article and start with yourself. Think about what areas/parts of your life you meet new people in. A local book club? At work? University?
- Look even further away and be specific about each area. Are there several book clubs and did you go to different schools?
- Names and skills. This is the important part containing all the valuable information you will need once you start using your map. Start to think about the people close to you in each area and add three attributes to their name. Think about their interests and professional skills. Information like “has lived in Dubai” can be relevant alongside “IT-specialist”.
- Go to Linkedin. Try to map out the different companies your contacts work for (in your book club for example). You might need to look someone up on Linkedin — so make sure to connect with them online while you're at it!
- Use socilab.com to see how all your LinkedIn connections are related. Can you see any special clusters or network nodes? A network node is a person that is connected to many people and could help you grow your network.
So, you made a map…
For many people, this is where the real task begins. You have to start networking to maximize the full potential of your map. You need to understand that you need to invest time (and effort) in networking activities — otherwise your map is just a piece of paper.
Look at your final work and analyse the results. Are there any surprises in your network? Anyone you would like to call right away and regain contact with?
Take a look at your life today and contemplate on your goals. Who could you reach out to? Are there any clear patterns of the type of network you have?
Network, network, network.
Start small and book a networking activity this week. A quick coffee with someone who you identified is in the industry you would like to work in or and expert in a particular field? Building or re-building relationships is a fun and natural part of networking that you can read more about here.
Start using your map!
Next up….
What to say or write to someone you’ve never met (in a networking purpose).
-
