It’s the weekend and you most probably have a few events to attend , work related or not it’s important that you confidently network.
Networking is an extremely valuable tool for both your business and social life. You will make friendships that will support you emotionally and also financially within business; you will get opportunities that you wouldn’t have otherwise gotten. It’s important to remember it’s not what you know, it’s who you know and if you know more people then you will automatically have access to benefits.
You can also use your network for advice on business matters and a different point of view. You can also get assistance from your network and the most important in my mind, is the positive influence you will gain from it. Surrounding yourself with successful people in your network and a bit of that stardust may rub off.
So it’s great to network, but how do you do it? Follow these tips to try:
BE YOURSELF
Many introverted professionals think they have to act like an extrovert in networking situations.While you do have to make an effort to be more outgoing than you usually are, don’t go too far, you want to come across as genuine and people will notice if you’re faking it.
ASK FOR INTRODUCTIONS
Using your existing network to make new connections can make the process less painful. You will have a friend in common you can talk about, if needs be and your mutual connection will be able to give you topics to talk about before-hand. This is a useful technique for when job hunting too.
DON’T BE TOO HARD ON YOURSELF
You have to put the fear of rejection to the side, rejection is something that is common within networking, people are busy and to them you might not be the right connection. That’s okay, and so you shouldn’t beat yourself up about it or relive the awkward conversation; reflect on what happened and learn from it for next time. The most competent networkers get rejected occasionally.
How do you deal with having to network?
Loved your tips. Networking can be difficult and it is easy to be discouraged. I love that you encourage people to just be themselves. I think that is truly the key to networking.
Glad you loved the tips and happy networking 🙂