How to Grow Your Network
Networking is a powerful way to start and build a rewarding career. The saying about who you know versus what you know holds true: Your personal and professional relations can open doors to opportunities, lead to strategic partnerships, provide careerlong mentorship, be a source of industry insights, and more. Creating and maintaining a professional network can power your advancement in ways that skills and knowledge alone cannot. And meaningful connections enrich your work life on a personal level, too.
10 Tips for Honing Your Networking Skills
Business networking is a skill that gets easier with practice. With these tips, you can build an effective professional network, whether you’re still in school, just entering the job market, or several years into your career.
Set Your Goals
Define what you want to achieve through networking and business relations, such as advancing your career, getting help and advice, learning about an industry, or getting job leads. Consider creating SMART goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound to increase your likelihood of success.
Be Confident
If you’re naturally shy, business networking can seem daunting. Keep in mind that many people at business networking events are in the same shoes. Have a few introductory lines in mind and then boldly walk up and introduce yourself. Most people are delighted to be approached.
Prepare
Take a moment to learn about the speakers at conferences or networking events. See whether there’s an attendee list and identify people you most want to meet and check their LinkedIn profiles. Make a list of a few questions to ask at the event.
Attend the Right Events
Look for events that attract people from your industry and that align with your business networking goals. Conferences are great for learning about industry trends, and job fairs work best for finding your next position. If you’re selling something, trade shows open doors. Although online networking isn’t as easy and natural, virtual events are still worthwhile, and joining LinkedIn groups, particularly if you participate actively in them, can be useful.
Perfect Your Elevator Pitch
Your goal is to provide people with information that gives them an idea of who you are and why you’re worth knowing. And you often won’t have a lot of time to get your point across—maybe only the length of an elevator ride—so it’s helpful to have your elevator pitch ready to go whenever the opportunity presents itself. Have some ready answers for follow-up questions, too.
Make Your Business Card
Although younger people at business networking events are happy exchanging e-cards from phone to phone, old-fashioned paper business cards can still be of value. They are a physical reminder for people you meet and make it easy for them to connect with you. When you get business cards from others—physical or digital—be sure to follow up with a short email. That way, you’ll be in their address list going forward and can further business relations.
Join Relevant Organizations
Adding memberships to your professional life gives your LinkedIn profile and resume more weight, especially if you volunteer to help in some way or can provide bylined content. Most organizations host events, have active websites, and interact on LinkedIn, giving you more places to connect and potentially showcase yourself.
Be Curious and Ask Questions
Having ready questions supports the back-and-forth that makes conversations interesting. Include questions about the speakers, the event, the hosting organization, and what is going on in the industry. Asking questions of others shows that you’re interested. What’s more, if you’re shy, they focus attention on others.
Leverage Social Media
Online networking through group Zoom meetings, webinars, and question-answer sessions are ways to get your name out there. Beyond these options are social media platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook. Actively sharing your perspective, and particularly adding to the conversations of others, will get you noticed in a good way.
Help Others
If you network purely for selfish reasons, your connections will be superficial and short-lived. Contribute, do favors, answer questions, share resources, and make helpful connections for people without any kind of quid pro quo. Being generous is intrinsically rewarding and establishes you as a person of character that people will want to know.
Advanced Techniques to Build Business Relationships
As you gain confidence and experience, you can add advanced techniques to furthering your business relations.
The 3 C’s
Three words beginning with “c” are the heart and soul of networking. It starts with connecting with people and forming genuine bonds with them. Communication is the key to that. Sharing generously and active listening are important. Lastly, collaboration can truly cement business relationships. When you work together with someone, you tend to get to know them on a deeper level.
Be Generous
Begin with giving, not asking for something. And never accept a favor without clear gratitude and an offer of reciprocation.
Don’t Forget the Human Touch
Show your true self. Telling compelling stories, listening, and being humble and vulnerable help people get to know and value you. Take genuine joy in helping others and opening other connections for them.
Leveraging Your Education to Build Your Personal Network
Don’t forget your alma mater when building business relationships: Higher education institutions typically provide an array of networking resources, from alumni networks to events and webinars. Indeed, one reason for continuing your education at the graduate level is to build your professional network.
For instance, networking is a key part of Excelsior’s Executive MBA program, offering three in-person residencies in three different U.S. cities, where you’ll collaborate and network with peers and industry experts. The invaluable experience of these hands-on residencies, as part of a hybrid curriculum that makes the program doable for working professionals, is a big part of what makes Excelsior’s EMBA program different from other MBA programs. And as a graduate, you’ll enjoy access to a community of nearly 200,000 Excelsior alumni worldwide.
To expand your network, gain invaluable experience, and earn a highly sought-after Master of Business Administration, consider enrolling in Excelsior’s 12-month EMBA program. You can transform your career in a year.
