A few advise about how to network efficiently in a field you know little about.

1. How to network ?
Thomas Bancel
Fulbright – 11/27/2014

2. Layout
• Get out
• Know how to introduce yourself
• Ask what people need
• Connect & keep in touch
Repeat the process

3. Get out & Meet people
Case study:
FLTA student interested in e-learning,
looking for job opportunity in the field.
To go to:
• Meetup – Afterworks
• Conference – Fairs
To prepare:
• Follow the news
– Subscribe to newsletters

4. Introduce yourself
“I just got back from the US where I was teaching French and I am interested in
online education, that’s why I am here”.
– What do you do?
“I have been following a class on Coursera recently and found it amazing, so I
was wondering what was going on in France about online education. That’s how
I found out this event”
– How about you?
Tell:
“I am interested in the field because …”
Forget:
I am looking for a job

5. Understand the need
• Ask people what they need :
– What is your most important priority at the moment?
– What is the most difficult part of your business?
– What is the plan for the next few months?
REMEMBER
PEOPLE LOVE TO SPEAK ABOUT THEMSELVES
You will try to fit in into that need
at some point

6. Connect & keep in touch
• Business cards
– Keep them!
– Write where and when you met people on the card!
• Follow up after event
– Connect through LinkedIn
– Try to understand what you learnt from the event
• Keep in touch
– “Hey Joe, we met @ … Since then, I have really
decided to invest more time on e-learning and I
would love to catch up…”

7. Repeat the process
• You will get better at presenting yourself and feel
very comfortable.
• You will naturally present yourself answering a need.
• Business/job opportunities will eventually come to
you.
Opportunities occur naturally

8. Personal examples
• Learn how to code
– Ruby on Rails meetup
• Work with French P2P marketplaces
– Co-Tuesday
• Hire people
– Go to student fairs

9. Q&A