How Networking Can Help You Find Your Dream Job
Meeting new people and making the effort to put your best face forward is not as easy as it sounds, yep I get you! Plus, if you consider that this can happen in circumstances where you are more tired than usual, annoyed about something or someone or you are just not in the mood to act like an extrovert, it’s all even more difficult.
I feel you and I’ve been there. Actually, I still find myself in these situations every now and then. I would be lying if I’d said “oh it’s easy, just put a mask on and be your best self”. We are all humans here and we all have good days and days where we just want to be left in our little, cozy and lovely comfort zone.
I used to hate being dragged to dinners or events by my parents, as a normal rebel teenager, I didn’t get the point.
The point hitted me when I was looking into uni abroads and my mum told me “oh I know the daughter of *name* lived in Denmark, you met her at *event* last year. Maybe she has some suggestions?”. Or when I was looking where to apply for my first internship and again my mum come up with *name* told me he has lots of connections in the field you are interested in, maybe you could arrange a call?”
And that’s when I got it, the power of having meaningful connections. Nurturing relationships with people in your circle but also out of it. Networking. The reason why I then started caring about all the dinners and events.
There are 3 main points why you should care about networking:
#1 TO MAKE MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS
First off, let’s clarify the difference between having contacts, having connections and having meaningful relationships.
Contact - You know the person but don’t really have many interactions with him/her. The relationship between the two of you is very superficial and sporadicus.
Connection - You know how this person can help you and he/she knows you can help them. The relationship is mainly based on doing each other favours and occasional chats.
Meaningful relationship - You know the person pretty well even just from a professional point of view and you have shared experiences and advice. The trust level between the two of you is high as well as the respect and esteem.
Note: You don’t have to be friends to have a meaningful relationship.
You will find yourself knowing people in each category listed. When networking, the aim is to build meaningful relationships and nurture these over time. There are plenty of ways to cultivate relationships, some of which require more time than others. It’s up to you to evaluate how to cultivate a relationship based on how important this is for you. Here are a couple of ideas:
#2 TO MAKE DIVERSE CONNECTIONS
Whether it’s an industry event, an informal chat with someone or a fancy dinner, any opportunity you have to connect with people out of your normal circle is an amazing way to gather new information and discover backgrounds and stories different than your own. All this could act as information that you can possibly use as a base to come up with new ideas, discover a gap in the market or even start being interested in aspects you’ve never thought about before.
Networking is a great “research” tool, both when you are connecting with people within your circle of interests as well as out of your normal interests. Most of the time conversations can lead to considering point of views you had never thought about before or grasping even more insights on something you already knew about.
#3 OPENS NEW OPPORTUNITIES
Acquiring new insights during networking events/moments might even mean new opportunities! Job opportunities, extra work experience opportunities whatever that might be you wouldn’t know about them if you didn’t start chatting with that person you met at that event or occasion.
Bare in mind though, that this doesn’t necessarily mean that all your connections have to be new/out of your current circle. You might find out that nurturing a bit more some of the connections you already have can open to new opportunities!
Task: Before you can begin building your network, start by considering your current network. Is there anyone you already know and can think of that might help you in a project/task you’re working on?
THINK IN BUCKETS
As mentioned in The Squiggly Career book, The key in making connections is thinking about these in buckets.
BUCKET 1 - Current Situation/role
These are any connections within your current position, like your manager for instance, a colleague working in another department, a person doing your same job but as a freelancer.
The power of these connections is that they can help you improve and grow from the position you are now.
BUCKET 2 - Future situation/role
These are connections that would possibly help you in making the career change you are thinking of which is currently out of your normal circle.
BUCKET 3 - Personal development
These are people that help you to be your best.
What are the main pain points in regards to networking for you? Over on my Instagram profile we will cover a couple of networking techniques (in real life & online) as well as how to establish your networking goals!
