Our last workshop of the series is this Sunday in Shoreditch, click here to book.
The saying goes ‘it’s not what you know but who you know’, which must spark some anxiety for the anti-social. In fact, few people I’ve worked with have been fans of ‘industry networking events’. The very concept fills most people with dread. How would you like to spend next Wednesday evening once you’re out the office? Let me guess, making small talk with strangers? Surely there are better ways to have better careers? And yet we can’t deny the fact that contacts can open doors. The Jobvite Index published in 2012 using data from over 600 companies, confirmed how much connections matter, declaring that 40% of hires came through referrals. In some tech companies that number soars to over half the company, a friend at a London based startup recently revealed to me that a staggering 75% of their staff were referrals.
If knowing the right people can lead to more of the right opportunities, why is networking disliked so much? Could it be because it makes something that we do everyday — socialising — into something more formal and more transactional than it usually is? Maybe it’s time to start thinking about networking differently. After all, aren’t we networking every day without realising it? If you have small talk with the same barista every morning as you grab your flat white — you’re networking. If you banter with the same guy at your lunchtime spin class — you’re networking. You’re making connections with new people — that’s what networking is all about.
“Leveraging your Network” is our final workshop of the series this Sunday in Shoreditch at a beautiful Breather space. We’ll give you the tools and frameworks to turn every opportunity and contact into an investment in your personal brand and link to a future goal. Whether you’re working full time, freelancing, or running your own business we aim to empower you to constantly move forward leveraging the people around you. We’ll also teach you the essentials of paying it forward and how to enable others. Come along and bring a friend, click here to book.
