The term 'networking' is a synonym for an activity that has existed in many forms for men and women for centuries. In essence, it is an activity for establishing connections, exchanging information and making problem-solving bridges out of shared experiences and life management plans. It's a process, not an end in itself. Networking functions because of a very basic characteristic of human behaviour. People enjoy giving advice when they are not placed in a threatening relationship to the seeker of help. Even a busy person will gladly respond to a short note or email asking for an opportunity to meet them when the purpose of information gathering is clearly stated. It helps to talk things over. Sometimes just talking about a problem out loud helps to clarify it. A sympathetic listener can be enormously supportive.
A few hours a month of networking can remind us that we are not alone and affirm a new reality from what previously may have been demoralising or confusing to us. For many, it is daunting to enter bars, clubs and sporting fraternities because of sex and age stereotyping or their own introversion. Networks provide a non-threatening and supportive environment in which to share information and secure uncomplicated companionship while wrestling with a career action decision.
Career help
Networking helps you maintain the initiative in the management of your career and in your job situation. It enhances your ability to act rather than react, to be the cause of events rather than the victim.
There are few who have not experienced the loneliness and fluctuating despondency of trying to resolve career and personal issues by themselves. As you discover networking, you will be surprised how helpful and supportive others can be—even people you don't know well or have not met before. Strategies that worked well for them could be useful for you, but you won't learn about them unless you talk to other people, until you decide to be less lonely. Talking to other people is useful and far better than the agony of waiting alone for the answer to your difficulty to appear. Networks lead you to the support and advice of others. By participating in networking you can identify people within or outside your current employment environment who are able to be mentors, sponsors or role models and seek their help.
Other people provide different viewpoints on your problem. Approaching others for this purpose can be like jumping into cold water the first time—it's not easy to admit that you are having difficulties. But once you do, you have started to communicate and the chances of finding a solution and restoring your morale are improved.
Where are these networks?
Both formal and informal networks exist in all employment environments, professional associations and communities. Networks are characterized by groupings of people with shared interests. They can be especially valuable to women, the physically impaired, members of ethnic groups and those in the early stages of their worklife experiences.
Information you gather directly from other people usually outweighs most of what you can find in printed material or on the Internet. It's the people who are doing or have done what you hope to accomplish who can tell you what it's really like, what obstacles need to be overcome and how to refine a strategy to achieve your aim.
Some network groups include Last Thursday Club, The Ruby Connection, Australian Businesswomen's Network, Mentoring Connections, Alumni, Young Entrepreneurs, BNI, Older Men New Ideas (OMNI), AMCHAM and JCI. These are just a few examples of networked sources of help for those concerned about reducing their work life risks and improving their personal career management. Through these informal settings participants meet regularly to share concerns, information, strategies and to support each other in resolving work life issues. They are discovered by making enquiries of people in the relevant industry or profession or using digital or social media. Visit Networking World a good Australian site that lists networking events and groups across Australia, by category and geographical area.
One network may meet for breakfast, another for lunch, and others in the early evenings on weekdays. While of practical help to members and their guests, some networks do have the limitation that everyone is in the same line of business. Hence some value may be lost by not meeting others in complementary occupational activities.
Networking is a highly practical activity. Little time is spent on social preliminaries. Even before the meeting begins, members are engaged in networking among themselves. Those seeking information about the profession or industry are quickly identified and linked up with helpers. The participants demonstrate by their actions that a satisfying job and a satisfactory career depend on accurate information.
Online Networking
The Internet is fast becoming a media for networking but a caution here. One could become too reliant on on-line communications and miss out on the richness and usefulness of face-to-face interaction with others. For professionals and executives LinkedIn is the most relevant site for making professional business connections. Sites such as Bebo, Facebook, Ning Groups, and Twitter are also worth exploring however all require participation and a strong commitment to generate valuable returns.
A considerable contribution to networking and to gaining a competitive advantage in job applications is to create your own presence online. Consider that the only way pre-Internet was for employers when recruiting , was to see only papers in forms of resume etc plus the impression made at interviews plus referee reports before the latter were reduced by employer policies not to be provided in writing. Now your potential network contacts, recruiters and employers can get a more authentic sense of your personality, skills, knowledge and career path if you create your web site to which they can be referred. It takes a lot of work and the need to engage a skilled web site designer who understands the objective but, when on line and accessible will be useful for you to refer others to it. Far better than a business card! SOHOs and Contractors are already using the web to inform and gain the attention of people who can give them business or engage them. Your own web site will not remove the necessity for a resume but by the nature of the media will convey much more about you than the printed document. Reports are beginning to circulate that more and more people are creating their web site for this purpose which is, of course, quite different from Facebook or Twitter or the like.
Networking preparation
So, networking is a career management skill too powerful to ignore. To develop it, decide on the subject areas you want to know more about; then resolve to locate the appropriate network and obtain the benefits.
Do bear in mind the four 'commandments' of seeking help from others:
1. Define what you want to find out.
2. Learn who is out there with this information
3. Know you may need to try several times (effort = time + expenses + energy)
4. Plan what you can offer in return for their help, i.e. reciprocity.
Record the questions you want your networking prospects to answer. You are going to interview each of them and want to make sure that you ask each person to consider the same points from their own perspective. You will probably end up with several questions, each rather open-ended, leaving room for those you contact to make their own unique response. Also, although it is human nature to want to meet expectations for information, companionship and counsel, if the person with whom you are conversing is not the appropriate one, ask for a referral to another potential source.
Networking will:
* Increase your competencies and confidence in obtaining information;
* Stimulate thoughtful appraisals of how realistic your preferred options are;
* Build a referral base for further career exploration;
* Enable you to take action rather than wait for events to happen;
* Often uncover unpublicized job role vacancies.
When you have benefited from networking spare some time for someone you know who is looking for answers. Whether family member, friend, neighbour or acquaintance, by contacting them you could provide the critical nudge over their hurdle. Your gesture could break the paralysis of inaction that so many people experience. Talking about problems is an essential step before one can move forward again towards one's goal in employment activities. You never know, you may make a new friend of someone who was just an acquaintance. It is not much to ask and you might need this kind of support yourself one day.
About the author
Paul Stevens, B.Bus., founded The Centre for Worklife Counselling in Sydney in 1979 following a 21 year career in Human Resources Management and The Worklife Network – a national and international affiliation of adult career specialists – in 1986. He wrote his first published contribution to adult career development in 1981, Win That Job!, closely followed by Stop Postponing the Rest of Your Life. Over 35 further titles, booklets and career assessment instruments have been published since, the latest being A Passion for Work: Our Lifelong Affair and My Third Age: Work & Life Choices.
Paul's dedication to assisting adults in transition has been recognised in many ways – he is Fellow of the Australian Association of Career Counsellors (AACC) and in April 2000 was awarded their highest honour, Life Membership; former Research Fellow in Adult Career Development, University of Wollongong; former Member, Board of Governors, Institute of Career Certification International (ICC International); Member, Asian Accreditation Panel for Career Management Certification (AAPCMC); Fellow Practitioner and World Council Australian Representative, Association of Career Professionals International; Honorary Member, Professional Résumé Writing & Research Association; Board Member, The Career Development Leadership Alliance; Honorary Member, Elite Performers Lifeskill Advisers Association; Honorary Member, Asian Association of Career Management Professionals (AACMP); Director of Studies for the eLearning global facility, The College for Career Practitioners, recipient of the Career Counselling Excellence Award from the AACC in conjunction with its sponsor, New Hobsons Press; and Author and Designer of Worklife's CareerMastery® Virtual Career Centre. Paul Steven’s is a regular contributor and author for Six Figures.
This article has been graciously provided by the author and the original publisher, Six Figures, a valued Entity Solutions partner.