Effective networking involves preparing for interactions, finding relevant contacts both online and in person, and maintaining relationships over time. It is important to think about how to represent yourself positively and learn about others' interests and needs. Making connections can help advance careers and research through partnerships, new opportunities, and knowledge sharing. Building a network requires effort initially but pays off through ongoing collaboration and support.
1. Careers
Effective Networking
1st June 2012
Dr. Tracy Bussoli
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2. Careers
Activities of networking
• Preparing for networking
• Finding people
• Making contact
• Talking about yourself
• Asking for things
• Finishing the conversation
• Following up
• Maintaining links
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3. Careers
Objectives
• Why: Think about why we need to
create and maintain contacts
• How: Learn some rules/tools to help
with creating and maintaining
contacts
• Some Practice
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5. Careers
Why creating contacts
useful?
• Build partnerships with business and industry
• Make your research more effective and successful encouraging
wider impact on society and the economy
• Create partnerships with internal departments and external
organisations
• Find a new employees for your team
• Find out what the competition is doing
• Find people who supply goods and services you may need
• Get known by others
• Get others to know what you do
• Help others with their business challenges
• Increase your knowledge of your marketplace or specialist area
of expertise
• Make new social and business friends
• Meet key people and decision makers for partnerships and
fundraising
• Raise your own and the organisation’s profile
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8. Careers
Finding people
• Start with people you know e.g.
supervisors and academics
• Whom they might know?
• Think ‘connectors’
• Think about them; who do they
interact with?
• Use professional / industry
associations
• Conferences and events
• Use LinkedIn / Facebook
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9. Finding People…..get
Careers
out there
Don’t spend all your time at a
PC waiting for people to come
to you.
• In person…at meetings, chance
encounters, on the phone 80%
• Electronically…..email, linked-in,
etc. 20%
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10. Careers
Because….
• A tweet: forgotten in
microseconds
• An email: forgotten in two
minutes
• A telephone conversation:
forgotten in half an hour
• A face to face meeting with a
follow-up thank you…..six
months!
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11. Careers
Building relationships
Alliance
Advocacy
Assistance
Advice
Answers
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12. Talking to people
• Half people are number 1 and half are number 2.
• In three minutes, number 2 has to find out as
much about number 1 looking for things that
connect you.
• Then reverse the process.
• Each pair in the room then feeds back a few things
that connect them
13. Careers
Finding Contacts
in person
Talking to people
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14. Careers
Preparation: Think about you
What do you want people to remember about you?
• Connector • Problem-solver
team-builder – networker – trouble-shooter – analyst – fixer
resource finder • Implementer
• Creator achiever – worker – pragmatist
inventor – designer – innovator • Strategist
• Influencer decision-maker – goal-setter –
persuader – salesperson – navigator
campaigner • Organiser
• Pioneer planner – anticipator – coordinator
entrepreneur – trailblazer – risk- • Mediator
taker negotiator – agent – intermediary
• Researcher • Nurturer
investigator – explorer – enquirer developer – carer – helper
• Adviser • Evaluator
consultant – guide – counsellor auditor – judge – monitor
• Inspirer
visionary – motivator – example- • Something else?
setter
• Communicator
educator – explainer –
spokesperson What stories will help them remember?
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15. Careers
Preparation: Think about
them
• What is interesting about them?
• What questions might they have
answers to?
• What do they need or value?
• How could you benefit them?
• What could they do for you
without effort?
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16. What type of questions
Careers
should I ask?
• Open questions
• Start with What, Where, How,
When and Why?
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17. Careers
Questions
• How did you get into this area?
• What would surprise someone
from outside the field?
• What motivates you in this role?
• What challenges do you face
regularly?
• What one bit of experience or skill
would get you noticed in this
area?
• What other questions would you
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ask?
18. Script elements
Careers
• Intro: Hi, my name is...
• Label/hook: I’m really interested in...
• Request: I was hoping I could ask you
a couple of questions about...
• Appreciation: ...was really helpful
because...
• Follow-up: Could I contact you
another time if I have more questions?
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19. Networking Scenarios
• On your handouts, you have four
scenarios that involve elements of
networking.
• In groups, choose 1 scenarios and
discuss how you would approach this.
• Member from each group feeds back.
20. In small groups, think about
the different ways of finding
relevant contacts online
21. Careers
Finding Contacts: Online
• Names on publications
• Professional bodies
• Linked-in, Facebook, MySpace,
twitter
• Forum/discussion boards of
professional bodies/linked-in.
• Networking Events (find out who
is attending beforehand)
• Queen Mary Alumni (linked-in)
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27. So, what’s stopping
Careers
you? • Shyness or
embarrassment?
• Fear of failure?
• Making a fool of
yourself?
• Moral objections?
• Lack of
confidence?
• Lack of contacts?
London Closed Because of Snow by Lars Ploughman
flickr.com/photos/75062596@N00/3246533121/ • Lack of time?
• Don’t know how?
• Something else?
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28. Learning from others
In pairs:
Tell your partner about a person that you
think is good at networking.
What do they do and how does this add
to their success?
Report back in to whole group
29. Careers
Resources
• Networking for Introverts: http://
www.slideshare.net/sachac/the-shy-connector
• Personal Networking: how to make connections count,
Mike Cope, Pearson Education, 2003
• Vault Guide to Schmoozing, Mercer Lerner, Ed Shen,
Mark Oldman, Hussan Hamadeh, Vault 2002
• Networking for job search and Career Success, L Michelle
Tullier, PhD, JIST works, 2004
• www.quintcareers.com/networking.html
• http://www.slideshare.net/neilfws/what-can-science-networking-online-d
• http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/advanced_search/results?v:project
=ezpubproj&render.function=xml-feed&sources=
ezpub&query=networking
• http://academia-101.blogspot.com/2006/03/networking-and-other-acade
• http://aclinks.wordpress.com/2009/03/31/networking-on-the-network/
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Editor's Notes
Ask the audience to volunteer what they understand by networking. Explain that, in the context of this workshop, it is about building links with people to maximise our chances of success in different areas. This can be done in a variety of different ways.