If I had to suggest just one way to invest your time on the path
to passion and success, it would be networking. Whether you are
eyeing a career change, launching a new company, or simply
maximizing the potential of your current path, building
relationships plants seeds for the future and opens the door to
opportunity.
Here are six questions to ask to make your networking focused,
effective, and mutually beneficial.
1. Why?
Before you take a single step, ask yourself, “Why am I doing this?”
What is your intent? What do you want to get out of it? What are
your goals? What will the focus of your interactions be?
The more clarity you have about your reasons for reaching out, the
more likely that your networking efforts will be beneficial to both
you and the people you connect with.
Some examples of what you might want out of your networking
include:
Open doors: You want to connect with people who can open doors for
you in your career change. This might include people with the same
career focus that you are changing to, and people who are involved
in the industry you are exploring.
Knowledge: What knowledge do you need in order to make the
transition? Who are the subject matter experts?
Inspiration: The people you connect with can be a huge source of
energy as you pursue your passion.
Ideas: The more people you build relationships with, the more
perspectives you can tap into.
Support: Building a network of mutual support with others who are
on a similar journey can be enormously beneficial.
2. Who?
Once you know why, it’s easier to define who. Who do you need to
know? What kinds of people are relevant to your goals?
For each of the areas listed, try building a picture of the people
you might connect with. Who are they? What is their professional
focus? Where are the watering holes where herds of them congregate?
3. What?
Now that you know why you’re doing this, and who you want to
connect with, it’s time to ask, “What is my message?” What is your
story? What do you want people to remember about you? What do you
want them to remember about what you need? What do you want them to
remember about how you might be able to help others?
4. Where?
Next, ask yourself, “Where is the focus of my networking?” Is it
local, or broader in scope? Do you want to build critical mass in
the local community, or does your focus lend itself to a national
or international scale?
5. How?
Once you know where the focus of your networking will be, you can
start to focus on the next question: “How am I going to approach
it?” How will you connect with people? What networking avenues will
you use?
Once upon a time, networking was mostly limited to opportunities to
get face-to-face. Now, with online social networking sites coming
out our ears, that’s no longer the case. But the question is still
the same, “How can I connect with the people I need to know?”
You can invest your time into one-to-one (e.g., informational
interviewing), one-to-many (e.g., an in-person networking event or
a social networking site like Facebook or Twitter), or some
combination of the two.
6. When?
As with any plan, you have to execute it in order for it to have
any impact. When will you do your networking? How often will you do
it? How many new people per day/week/month do you want to connect
with? What specific people do you want to meet? Set goals.
Parting thought
Successful networking isn’t just about what’s in it for you. Really
successful networking weaves in a focus on what’s in it for them.
As you network and build relationships, keep asking yourself one
last question. “How can I help?”
The more you look for opportunities to assist others – even in
small ways – the greater the likelihood that the help you need will
come back to you.
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Time for a career change? Launch it with
The Occupational Adventure Guide:
A Travel Guide to the Career of Your Dreams
