As much as you might shudder at the thought, your career success will be directly tied to your willingness and ability to network. I’d go so far as to say that if you don’t learn how, and actively practice and build your networking skills, you won’t reach your goals. Your resume (and your shoes) may be polished to a shine, but if you are ignoring the fact that 2/3 or more of people get their jobs through people they already know, or people they meet in the search, all that shine is for nothing. We get information, ideas, resources, scoop, and new contacts from others in all other areas of our lives, so why should your career be any different?
1) Get clear on what you’re looking for. What kind of job or opportunity do you want? Keep it short and sweet so you can communicate it easily. Practice that as your elevator speech for meeting new potential employers or networking groups on linkedin future colleagues.
There are various types of networking groups from informal coffee shop get-togethers to formal breakfast meetings. The first thing you need to do is find the right networking events for you.
Join professional associations and groups that are connected to what you want to do, or to fields you’d like to explore. (and be active!) The more people get comfortable with you, the more you let them see you doing something well, the more likely they are to reach out on your behalf, or even hire you! Whether you are a volunteer or doing paid work, people are watching you and deciding how helpful they want to be. If you are always late, putting in minimal effort, gossiping, or missing commitments, how likely do you think people are to recommend you for anything?
First of all be the genuine article and don’t put on an act. After a while you’ll find it difficult to keep up the act and just like a lie, one lie leads to another. As you go forward you become increasingly more of a fake and people start to see through you.
Get offline. While new technologies are fun to play with and can be effective, don’t forget the most powerful form of communication there has ever been: face-to-face. Buy a coffee for a recruiter who was good to you in the past. Catch up with former work colleagues. Touch base with your old boss. Join a regular networking group. Your list will be longer than you think.
So many times you will hear software defined networking how easy it is to throw up a website and then watch the money come rolling in. Sorry folks, it just doesn’t happen that easily! We are here to tell you the whole truth – no hype or misleading half-truths.
Marketing skills are often missing among many assistants / teams. These need to be developed to ensure good business interactions, networking and focus for future funding of their own companies as well as for their buyers, so that the consumers’ interests are always kept in mind and as priority with project work.
Get out there more often. Most people are friendly. As with any other skills, one sure way to improve is to practice, practice and practice. With practice, you’ll become a financial analyst who is masterful at networking.