Why Networking is a Superpower that can Elevate your Career.
October 09, 2024
Donna Bowden | Career Coaching Consultant | Narrate Your Career Ltd
Why Networking is one of the Most Important Skills to Develop?
In the last 5 years we’ve seen significant changes to the world of work. Individuals are re-thinking what they want from their lives and their careers. Linear office-based careers are no longer the only option. Businesses have evolved how they recruit and retain their talent. We’re no longer able to rely on our employer to drive our learning and development. It’s down to us to take full ownership of where we want to get to in our careers and understand who or what support will enable us to reach our desired destination.
Having worked as a corporate recruiter for over twenty years, I’ve personally seen that networking is one of the most important skills to develop if you’re looking to elevate your career growth. Key phrases such as “Your Network is your Net Worth” and “It’s not what you know, but who you know” have become widely used for a reason. It’s never been as important as it is right now to focus on building and maintaining the right relationships within your network.
Many corporate professionals, particularly within procurement have developed an excellent network which benefits their employer, particularly with internal colleagues, stakeholders, and external suppliers. But often they don’t invest the same time and effort to develop and nurture key relationships within their network to support their own personal and professional growth. The right relationships can help you to secure new opportunities, access the hidden job market, gain critical market insights, win clients, grow personally and professionally, and build your personal brand to be more visible to show your value.
But if it’s so important, why is it so commonly overlooked by corporate professionals in their career? In this article, we’ll be exploring the power of networking by looking at some of the benefits and common challenges. We’ll consider how you can use your existing skills to overcome these challenges and take your networking to new levels. How do you feel when you think about networking? Have you embraced the power of networking to help elevate your growth personally and professionally?
What is Networking?
I regularly ask individuals how they feel about networking, and often the reaction is not positive. A common first thought is of large networking events where you’re put under pressure to “pitch” yourself or your business to strangers. Yes, face to face networking events are one option, but there are different methods to build and develop your network in a way that works for you.
I like to think of networking as an opportunity to create, develop and maintain relationships, ideally with like-minded individuals. Through these relationships you may be able to help others. Over time you may also benefit either personally, professionally or for your business from your network. Those that prioritise networking see great rewards in the long-term and often learn to love it.
Even though the first thought about networking often creates images of external face to face events, there are various methods to build a strong network, in a way which feels right for you.
Types of Networking
Online
Let’s be clear. Online networking is most definitely not about collecting as many followers or connections as possible. It’s about building genuine relationships. Online can be a great place to start for many.
LinkedIn is the obvious start point for corporate professionals wanting to find like-minded individuals to connect and engage with online, hopefully resulting in strong relationships being formed.
Connect with those that you know – friends, colleagues, bosses, leaders, stakeholders, suppliers, former peers, recruiters, alumni networks etc. Engage with their posts, drop messages to stay in touch, and, where relevant, look to take the relationship offline. Book in a call, a coffee, a catch up – whatever works best for you.
Ask them to recommend you on LinkedIn, or introduce you to their network, or refer you for roles. Ask where they spend time and engage online, and to let you know of any relevant events.
Seek out relevant groups or events online to join and engage with.
Look into online learning opportunities where you get the chance to meet other like-minded individuals.
In Person
In my experience, and particularly since the pandemic, there is nothing better than having the opportunity to build relationships in person. You never know where these relationships can lead. Often these relationships are formed quicker and deeper in person.
In person networking is not just about attending large events.
It can also be about following up in person on a one-to-one basis with individuals that you’ve met online, or in other ways.
Look out for smaller networking events.
Are there any relevant local groups that meet in person?
Use your current relationships to find out about relevant networking opportunities.
Internal
Internal networking is key for our growth and success in our corporate roles. Many of you reading this article will already see stakeholder management and stakeholder mapping amongst your key strengths which have helped you to succeed in your career so far.
Are you maximising these relationships over time?
Do you stay in touch with the individual beyond the project?
Do you publicly support their wins?
Do you congratulate them and stay in touch when they have moved on?
How do you apply these skills when building your external network?
External
Developing a skill, and passion, for building a strong external network can be a game-changer for your career. The right external relationships can lead to future career opportunities as well as the chance to collaborate with others and build your personal brand.
Consider how strong your external network is currently, and what you can do to strengthen those relationships over time.
Focus on those that you already know, especially those that you have enjoyed working with in the past.
With your ideal future career in mind, think about who could be helpful to develop a strong relationship with to help you to achieve your goals.
This could include colleagues, peers, hiring managers, recruiters, coaches, mentors, suppliers, and thought leaders.
For some, a hybrid blend of both online and offline networking can help to successfully create and build meaningful relationships with a broad range of individuals.
What are the Benefits of Networking?
Believe it or not, networking can be fun! And it doesn’t have to involve pitching to strangers at all.
Personal Benefits
Build your confidence
Developing your networking skills can build your confidence in so many ways. If you know the right people, or people that can introduce you to the right people then you’ll feel much more supported in times of need.
Improve your communication
Networking can improve your communication and listening skills, build your resilience and help you to enjoy operating out of your comfort zone.
Increase your empathy
It can help you to empathise with others.
Diversify your opportunities
By broadening your network, you can learn from diverse viewpoints and explore opportunities that you never knew were possible for you.
Professional Benefits
Enhance your career opportunities
Building the right network can significantly enhance your career opportunities.
Raise your profile
The right people can open doors to the hidden-job market and help to raise your profile within the market.
Research and explore
You can use your network to research and explore future opportunities and to hear about market insights that will help your performance in your role.
Future proof your skills
Networking can help to future-proof your skills and identify future opportunity for growth.
Business Benefits
Partnership and collaboration
Networking can create opportunities for partnership and collaboration that may not have existed previously.
Innovation
It’s a fantastic way of winning new clients and hearing about innovative technologies and suppliers.
Successfully promote your brand
When done successfully, networking can significantly raise an organisations’ brand profile to the right in.
So far, we’ve discussed some of the benefits of networking for your career growth, but let’s now address the elephant in the room.
Why do so many of us shy away from networking in the first place?
Common Challenges with Networking:
Here’s some of the most common challenges that I hear from corporate professionals when they talk about why they don’t build networking in as a key strategy for career growth and success:
“I don’t have the time”
“I know it’s important, but I’m not very good at it”
“It’s awkward and embarrassing”
“I’m an introvert”
“What would I say?”
“I don’t want to pitch”
“I don’t meet the right people”
Play to your Strengths to Overcome your Challenges with Networking
As we’ve discussed, networking can come in many forms. Hopefully starting to think about networking as a way of building relationships might help with your level of comfort. When thinking about what types of networking will work for you, think about your strengths, passions, and values. If you can use your strengths to network in a way that best suits your communication style and identify like-minded individuals it’s more likely to be enjoyable, and dare I say it, fun!
Networking is less about short-term gain, but instead building long-term relationships where you can add value, and potentially gain benefit over time. You do not need to “pitch” yourself whilst networking, but it’s important that you can succinctly answer questions about what you do, how you help people, and why you are there.
Those that show interest by asking great questions are often more likely to make a lasting impact. Work towards being the most interested person in the room, and not necessarily the most interesting if that feels more comfortable to you.
Use your existing skills such as strong stakeholder communication and stakeholder mapping to enhance your networking. These strategic strengths are transferable when looking to develop your external network too. Think about who and what support could help you to achieve your future goals. Prioritise developing relationships with those that could help you to get there. However, don’t be too quick to discount those that you think can’t help you. Afterall, they might be able to help you in other ways or introduce you to other people who can help.
Successful networking is a longer-term strategy. Be helpful to others and others will want to help you in return. Don’t just think about networking if you’re looking for a new role – in fact developing network as an on-going skill can mean that the right types of roles come to you in the future, even if you’re not looking for them. Developing a passion for networking and creating the time to allow it to happen is a powerful strategy for long-term career growth and fulfilment.
Remember that you don’t need to do this alone. Whether it’s a friend or colleague that you can network with, or a coach or mentor who can build your confidence with networking, or reading a book or attending an online course on networking, think about who, or what might be able to accelerate your growth when it comes to building your skills and making the time for networking.
Networking has played a key role in my career so far and has been instrumental with my recent career coaching business launch. Feel free to reach out to discuss your personal experiences, wins or challenges with networking.
About the Author
Donna is the Founder of Narrate Your Career Ltd, which is a career coaching consultancy which helps UK-based Procurement Professionals to successfully move forward in their career or job search. Donna has worked as a Senior Recruiter in the corporate world for more than 20 years and has specialised in Procurement Recruitment for the past decade. Donna lives on the South Coast with her husband and daughter.
Article references available on request.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and contributors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Prenax.
