Do you enjoy meeting people who share your interests? Are you good at connecting authentically with others? Do you like eating food?
Even if you answered yes to only one or two of these questions (hopefully everyone answers yes to the third!), you can still be a great networker.
Networking sometimes gets a bad rap, but when you build a strong professional network, it means you have trusted people to talk to when you’re looking to grow professionally.
And, networking doesn’t have to be hard. In fact, let’s break it down into those initial three questions.
1. Meet people. It’s easy to get into a routine of work, exercise, and socializing with friends. To build a network though, you need to think about engineering your everyday experiences so you meet new people. One of the easiest ways to do this is to follow your interests. Make a list of your top ten favorite activities, professional interests, things you want to learn about, and causes you support. Once you’ve made your list, consider:
- Joining a professional club or organization.
- Attending free seminars, classes, or events.
- Checking out Meetup.com for both social and professional events tailored to specific interests.
- Volunteering.
These avenues set you up for success by giving you something in common with other attendees, consequently offering an easy way to break the ice. Channel your natural curiosity and start a conversation with someone about why they attended the event or joined the group, and get to know them a little better.
2. Connect. So, you’ve met people. Now, how do you strengthen a connection with them? First, you have to make sure you know how to follow up with them after you meet them. Don’t be afraid to speak up and ask for someone’s contact information. It doesn’t matter whether you connect on social media, email, or by phone—just that you have a reasonable way to contact them in the future.
3. Be authentic. There are several ways to casually express interest in seeing someone again. (Yes, this is like dating, but professionally!)
- Share an event you think they would like, and ask them to attend with you.
- Mention that you’d like to continue your discussion with them about something you had previously talked about.
- Tell them you’d love to learn more from them about something they’re highly experienced with.
- Ask their advice in an area that challenges you.
When you’re reaching out to people, make sure you’re genuinely interested in learning more about them and hearing their thoughts. The icebreakers listed above are a great starting point to a conversation, but they shouldn’t limit what you talk about. Use them as springboards to truly get to know someone so you feel comfortable reaching out to them in the future.
4. Eat food. This is the fun part. The easiest way to get to know someone a bit more is over a casual lunch or by grabbing coffee. (Pro tip: You don’t actually have to get coffee! Coffee shops are just a low-key place to meet.) Depending on who you’re meeting, it might be appropriate to buy them a cup of joe or pay for their meal the first time. It never hurts to offer if you can afford it.
Networking, at its core, can be summed up as: Meet people; eat food. If you think you can tackle those two things, while making sure to connect authentically with others, then you’re prepared to network.
Go forth—network! It’s likely you’ll make some friends along the way, too.
Want to network with us? Come to our next event!
