4 Lessons That Transformed My Approach to Networking
How I improved my networking game.
Networking.
It’s a skill that has become almost a prerequisite in today’s cut-throat world.
Yet, many of us still surprisingly forget how powerful a strong network can be for your career, and how it can help you stay afloat in the relentless world of business.
Also, did you know that approximately 70% of jobs are not advertised?
You may be asking, if they’re not advertised, then how are they filled? The answer is, you guessed it, networking.
The opportunities you find on job boards are only the minority of what’s available. There’s a whole gold mine of jobs that you aren’t aware of, and the only way to access them is by speaking with the right people.
As an undergraduate during my university years, I felt I was falling behind my peers. I had no corporate experience, no network, and lackluster skills. I was desperate, and I was afraid of failing.
So, I decided to start doing the thing I thought would best help further my career to put me on par (if not above) the rest — networking. And it worked. By growing my network, I received a plethora of value that I genuinely believe helped build my career, such as life advice, mentors, and an internship.
It took me several years and many rejections to understand how to be a better networker. It’s an art, and it’s something you can master with enough practice.
So today, I’m going to be sharing with you the lessons that I have learned that have changed how I approach networking.
You are your own business
Every business has a value that they bring to society.
- For a restaurant, that would be food.
- For a gym, that would be physical exercise.
- For a clothing store, that would be…well…clothes.
In that same sense, you are your own business.
Think about your value and what you bring to the table, and communicate that to whichever professional you meet. It could also simply be sharing an article or any resources you encountered that they may find interesting themselves.
However, this simply isn’t a one-way street.
When you think about it, every business also receives value back from society. Typically, that’s money. In this sense, think about what value others can bring to you, and what you’re looking for.
Is it mentorship? Career advice? Life advice?
You provide value to others, and in return, others provide value back to you. That’s how every business runs, and that’s how you should run your own business too.
It’s much more effective to build your network connections by not just asking and taking from others, but also by giving.
Every good business also has a vision and mission statement. What is your vision and mission statement for your business (i.e., yourself)? What do you want to achieve? Where do you envision yourself? Why? How?
The answers to these questions can influence how you network, and who network with.
Hence, before you even begin networking, have this honest conversation with yourself. Ask yourself these four questions:
- What is my value?
- How can I provide value to others?
- What am I looking for in a network?
- What is the vision and mission statement for my business?
Find your board of directors
Once you’ve figured out your business and what you’re striving to achieve, find your board of directors.
Every large and successful business has its own board of directors, so why shouldn’t you? That is, find, network, and curate a special group of 5 people that align with your vision and goals.
This is the group that you’ll be consistently relying on for whenever you need advice or help. They will know what you want to achieve and can provide the information and guidance necessary to steer you in the right direction.
Leverage platforms like LinkedIn to go out and scope for people who you may believe could help you on your journey.
For instance, if you’re interested in becoming an entrepreneur, reach out to some successful entrepreneurs on LinkedIn and see whether they’d be interested in having a coffee chat.
After you’ve had a chat and think they’d be a good fit to help you achieve your goals, add them to your board of directors.
Rinse and repeat until you’ve carefully curated 5 individuals.
However, ensure that they would also be interested in having consistent chats with you and that you’d be able to reach out to them if you’re ever seeking ad-hoc advice.
Likewise, ensure that they would also be someone who you would be interested in having consistent chats with, and is someone you would feel comfortable reaching out to at any time.
You will feel a lot more confident knowing that you have a steady and knowledgeable support network that you can always rely on.
Maintain the bridge
One of the worst mistakes I’ve seen when networking is that people will typically reach out to others have a coffee chat, but then go silent and never catch up again.
Maintaining the bridge is just as important as building the bridge in the first place.
Try not to have just one chat, and then never follow up.
Work to keep catching up with the person. It does not have to be monthly catch-ups, but once every few months could suffice (depending on each other’s schedules, of course).
The people you network with are most likely busy people who have other competing priorities that they need to attend to on a daily. Thus, if you don’t keep making yourself known to them, they’ll most likely forget about you.
You want the other person to know who you are, keep remembering who you are, and keep you in the front of their brain for anything that you may find useful (e.g., a job opportunity).
Nowadays, it’s not just about who you know, but who knows you.
Hence, if you reach out to someone, make sure you do the work to organize regular catch-ups. I’m sure they would love to hear what you’ve been up since your last chat.
Ask if they know someone
Everybody knows somebody.
I’m a big subscriber to the ‘Six Degrees of Separation’ concept, which states that all people are only a maximum of six social connections away from each other.
That means that you and I are only six people away from Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Beyonce!
All jokes aside — this concept is especially important when it comes to networking, and is how you can rapidly grow your network. After every coffee chat I have, at the end of the conversation, I always ask the other person the following:
“I’d be interested in learning more about _______, would you happen to know someone who you feel I’d benefit from speaking to?”
Most of the time, the person you’re speaking to will refer you to one or two other names you could talk to, quickly growing your network and providing you more people you can learn from.
Take advantage of the Six Degrees of Separation.
I understand how difficult networking can be. It took me a lot of coffee chats and LinkedIn messages for me to be able to get comfortable with the idea.
However, I have found a lot of benefits with it, and I believe you can too.
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