I have found over the years that people have a misconception about networking. Many people think that networking is a set event that you attend. Unfortunately, b-schools perpetuate this myth by holding...wait for it...networking events where the entire night is to mingle and meet people.
These events are GREAT for extroverts like me that thrive on meeting new people, making small talk and generally having a whole bunch of external stimulation. My friends that are introverted HATE these designed events and often wondered how they could ever stand out.
After slogging through years and years of manufactured networking events I have learned that the vast majority of actual networking takes place FAR, FAR, FAR away from these events.
Repeat after me: Networking is not an event, it is your life.
The key to being a good networker is to be consistent.
The point of building your network is to create a web of people that you can call on to help you solve a problem, get a job, introduce you to someone, etc. And in return you serve that role in reverse. What happens when someone in your network ends up not being what you thought they were?
You don't trust them anymore!
As an example a person in my network knows several people in an industry that one of my clients is entering. I don't know anyone in that industry so I got to a gate keeper at a firm and dropped my contacts name as a referral source. I instantly knew that I wasn't going to get a meeting when I saw the look on the gate keeper's face.
My contact had apparently burned bridges all over town with some past deals and now I was at risk for being poisoned by association. NOT a good situation!
You are building your network with every email, every coffee, every interaction with anyone you meet. You MUST be consistent. Answer emails promptly, be courteous to gate keepers, assistants, janitors, drivers, etc, always look for ways to be helpful, anticipate the needs of others, and deliver high quality work EVERYTIME.
Meeting someone at a networking event is great and I have made several great connections through those methods. The strongest connections I have are the ones that have a big problem they need fixed and they instantly think of my name, not because I passed them a card at a conference, but because they know I will deliver every single time they call.
I know it sucks when your MD calls you at 10pm after they just had a fun evening out with changes for a pitchbook. Making copies of yet another tax return isn't anyone's favorite way to spend a Friday night. But THIS is how you build your network.
Yes, you still have to go to all those fake events and drink crappy coffee and well drinks, but don't forget that the way you live your life will build a bigger and more importantly STRONGER network than any speed dating business card swapping event you can ever attend.
+sb, another good one acctnerd. if you will, talk a bit about what younger/inexperienced people (college seniors) might do to create this atmosphere of reciprocity. many of the seniors in my college fraternity call on me for networking advice, and I talk about reciprocity, but quite frankly, they don't have much to offer. where's the beef?
When you are young and inexperienced you don't have much to give in reciprocity other than your consistent high quality work. This will build a foundation for natural introductions to people outside of your circle of influence. I was often brought into meetings with visiting partners from other offices because the partners in my city knew they could count on me to take great notes and make them "look good."
This gave me access to a tremendous network of high level executives at my firm as well as with clients. It is this groundwork early in my career that gave me personal cell phone numbers of people that I have called on to help get me past gate keepers now that I am in a different field.
+1 SB, Great stuff.
Was wondering if you can offer some advice on building a network external of your firm as a young professional. As you said, internally you can demonstrate it through producing good work but how does one go about it externally and try to give back to others?
As a college senior myself, the biggest thing I have found is going about building your network or networking with people with a genuine interest in their background, experiences and advice. Honestly, I've reached out to tons of analysts and associates and they all remember what it was like a couple years ago when they went through the task of breaking in. I just approach them with the intent of learning from their experiences of breaking in, their first months or years on the job and any other hobbies they might have (sports, movies etc). Over time, as you speak to them more often, you get closer to them and it becomes less artificial.
Obviously, not every single contact works out this way but I've overcome the barrier in this way. In time, if they or if I need help, we both have someone to rely on based on a foundation of mutual interest.
Networking is a numbers game. You need a ton of contacts because many of them won't pan out to be anything more than a nice person you met once at a function.
networking is all about quid pro quo. you ask for help (accured) to be paid back once you have succeeded and gotten what you want. I fully agree with acctnerd that consistency is the key.
Also, it is got to have a element of subtely and comment sense when networking. What I meant by that is for you to read the situation and the person that you are networking with. Some people prefer a direct approach, while others prefer the soft touch. If you can augment your networking approach to a different audience, I have no doubt you will get a better response.
Agreed 100%. I didn't enjoy networking events when I was in the uni....the entire idea of bombarding some poor sod with vacuous questions and fighting off 50 other people to do it seemed retarded to me.
Having said that, I think a large part of how I got my first job was the fact that I told Partner A at my interview that I had gone to a networking event and had spoken in detail to Principal B and Project Manager C about the job.
I got my current job purely because the guy who got me in was fairly senior and dare I say it, a friend (helps that Im pretty good at my job). He liked the way I worked and the fact that I was reliable. I liked the fact that he was willing to spend a lot of time to train me. We then started hanging out outside work coz lets face it, you like hanging out with people with similar interests. You could say I networked my way to this job, but honestly, I would spend time with this guy regardless of whether he could get me a job or not.
Do things you like, hang out with people who interest you. Life is too short to worry about going to boring events with the sole purpose of handing out your business card.
Very, very true. I will say that sometimes it is unavoidable to go to networking events. I will be writing about that in an upcoming post!
It boils down to what Conan O'brien said:
''Be kind, work hard, and amazing things will happen.''
Don't help people in the hope of having something in return. Help because you're happy to help.
Many replies to this post are full of good advice. In sum - get out in the traffic!
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