NETWORKING
Networking is the action or process of interacting with others to exchange information and develop professional or social contacts.
During the course of the networking soft skill session, we were taught how to network career-wise to develop professional contacts. One of the advantages of networking is that it helps professionals widen their circles of acquaintances, find out job opportunities, and to increase their awareness of news and trends in their field.
There are usually hundreds or thousands of people vying for the same thing you want, having the right connections and networks could help place you step ahead.
During the course of this article, we will be discussing
· Why we must network
· Types of networks
· How to Network
Why must we network?
One key reason why we must network is that it helps us become more valuable, because a network of a group of people with common interests and goals or ideas, will share new trends and developments in career fields. Thus, helping to level up career-wise one way or another. There’s no actual way to quantify how much I have noticed I missed out on due to my poor networking skills. A short experience of mine during a casual stroll, I met an old friend who’s into web development. We got to talking and spoke about career interests, barely a week after meeting him, he got me a connection to help me out with my career interest and because of that, I have been opened to more ideas and prospects of working together on a project.
According to review42, 85% percent of positions are filled through networking and 70% of people found a job through connections in a company. The results of networking are staggering, as it almost guarantees a job as long as you have the right connections and it also proves that networking is an immensely valuable skill.
Types of networks
Business networks
This is a network aimed at developing relationships between people or companies, to build trust and rapport which could result in the exchange of valuable information that may not be available outside the network.
Social networks
Social networking is a casual relationship with friends which revolves around fun, entertainment, or for guys some whooping on Fifa or knockouts on u.f.c.
Career networks
Career networking involves developing contacts with people who share your common interests to learn more about your field, improve prospects during a job search, or having a mentor to guide you in a chosen field to achieve career goals.
How to Network
Observe and learn
This involves observing name tags, what people like, what motivates them, what they value etc, paying attention to details and their interests. Also, paying genuine compliments could lighten up their mood, making the connection easier.
Value
In Dale Carnegie’s book on How to Win Friends and Influence People, he said the easiest way to get anything from someone is by giving them what they want. So, if we can provide value or help your network, you would be in line for some form of guidance assuming you have a mentor or job opportunities. The benefits are endless.
Remembering Names
One of the easiest ways of warming people up to us is by remembering things as simple as their names or using their names during conversations with them in a non-creepy way. That being said, it’s not always easy to remember names. However, there are several methods of remembering names, none I have been able to master yet, lol.
Be intentional about networking
Networking is almost as important as learning how to code or the skill behind why you want to network because several people are also trying to create a connection with the same person you want to create a connection with. So having a goal or a game plan behind networking will improve the quality of our networks.
Leave a lasting impression
The first five minutes is usually a good window to leave a good first impression. Basic things like showing respect, asking intelligent questions will, staying in touch will help leave a lasting impression. This is very important because it improves the quality of connections.
Networking tips
1. Become a Mentor/Mentee
2. Always introduce your networks to each other
3. Don’t forget to follow up with new contacts
4. Attend networking events
Article courtesy of gemmine and Promise Shittu
After the lesson on networking, I have been able to make significant progress with career-related connections, through popular networking apps like LinkedIn, I was able to interact with a person with who I shared similar career interests. I also interacted with a colleague at Gemmine named Jesutofunmi Adebayo who I shared common interests with. It turned out to be easier than I expected and when conversations didn't go as well as I may have liked I simply took a step back and evaluated the steps I took to see if I can improve the quality of connections next time.
