Networking 101

Service Description

Networking? "Oh no, I don't want to 'kiss up to people.' It feels disingenuous." I get it, I felt like that too at first. However, I changed my thinking once I altered my perspective. According to Investopedia, networking is an "exchange of information and ideas among people with a common profession or special interest, usually in an informal social setting." In other words, it's just talking, but with a purpose. We all know how to talk, but learning how to talk to strangers can be a challenge. I will go over how to reach out to specific people in your desired profession/industry, what your message entails, and how to have a sincere conversation. Your goal is to learn and use that knowledge however you would like. For example, you may takeaway a valuable insight in a role that you're interested in and apply that to another conversation - perhaps in an interview. Now you seem more interesting as a person, sparking up more conversation or even impressing someone. Networking provides the opportunity to learn from and connect with others. If that leads you to a referral, great. If it doesn't, that is also fine because that was not your goal in the first place. The best part of networking is that you do not have to be an extrovert - that is a misconception. Anyone can do it. Always keep in mind you never know where that conversation could take you. I can personally testify that it has helped me in ways that I would have never expected it would.