“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”
Having an established network is essential for young professionals. Through time and effort, these individuals can provide many things; from answers to “dumb” questions, to career or life advice that can help alter your career. In my experience, my network has grown from mentors into impactful friends. People who I used to email formally a few times a year now text me to ask how I’ve been. For those of you that are either new to networking or have a hard time talking to strangers, this can all seem very intimidating. I’m here to answer a few questions you might have, and to offer some insights on how to successfully build a network for yourself.
1. Quality over quantity
The first misconception of networking is that meeting more people is better. As long as you spread yourselves amongst a lot of professionals, if one connection doesn’t work out, at least you have that many more to fall back on, right? In reality, creating a meaningful network filled with relevant people that you enjoy talking to is much more important. When you try to reach out to as many connections as you can, it can come off as superficial. The best this will do is create a surface level relationship for a majority of the people you meet, which would hinder you from getting to really know people as well as restrain people from really wanting to help you. Furthermore, it’s harder to follow-up with 20 individuals versus just 5. Long-term, you will have less of a network than those who connected with individuals they truly engaged with and found interesting to talk to.
2. Go in with the right mindset
You might be reaching out because you want an internship, or a job, or a connection to someone in their network, but understand this: that’s not going to happen right away. Having the right mindset is key when talking to people. Your brain should not be on “Get me to where I want to be” mode. Building genuine, long-term relationships should be the goal when constructing your network.
3. Prepare personalized questions
Broader questions have their place from time-to-time. If you have a genuine question about where a certain industry is headed or the tough adjustment out of college, then ask them. However, most questions should be personalized. Do your research. Look at their Linkedin, know where they currently work and where they used to work, and maybe even do some research on those companies. Coming up with specific questions that apply to that person makes the interaction much more engaging. Additionally, individuals appreciate that kind of attention to detail, so your efforts won’t go unnoticed.
4. Follow-up Tips and Tricks
Following up is one of the most important things to do after connecting with someone. There have been way too many alumni who have told me about the searing disappointment of hearing from a student years after they’ve spoken. By failing to follow-up, you’re pushing that individual farther away from becoming a crucial part of your network.
It can be hard to know when to follow-up, or how to, so here are some tips and tricks I’ve learned over the years.
Send a brief “Thank You” email after your call or meeting. Make sure you let them know that you will continue to keep them posted and point out specific things they said that stuck with you. This way, it helps you both remember the crux of your conversation.
If you see a compelling article that is in their area of expertise, send it to them. This lets them know not only that you are knowledgeable, but that you’re a thoughtful person.
After the first interaction, it’s appropriate to contact someone a month or 1.5 months later. By doing this, it lets them know that you are going to continue to talk to them and it refreshes your name in their mind.
Holidays are a great time to send a quick email or text. It’s a nice reminder that you are still someone actively engaging with them.
Don’t be afraid of short calls! Sometimes I just have one or two life questions that I need input on. Following up doesn’t call for lengthy conversations, so it’s okay if it takes just 5-10 minutes of their time.
Send emails on the same initial thread. This person probably has thousands of emails that they read a day. It’ll be easy for them to forget what you’ve talked about. By asking them for another phone call or meeting on that same thread, it helps them see when you last spoke and what you spoke about.
Comments