So everyone talks about networking and how important it’s recently become in today’s job force, but how does one “actually” network? To some, it seems overwhelming, and almost like it’s a waste of time because you can’t measure the progress directly.
We’ve come up with a few key factors in what networking looks like, and how to approach it from the ground up:
Be honest with yourself, and with others. No matter what stage of your career you’re in, whether that be a student, recent grad, 5 years in or 20 years into your career, you have to do a little soul searching. What makes you tick? What makes you really enjoy your work, and what do you find gratification in?
This helps narrow the field of networking quite a bit, it’s called the beach head approach. It’s an old war technique, where a commander would send his troops full force at one point of entry. Once you break through the first line of fighters, you can then spread out and widen the attack.
Once you find a niche you LOVE, then you can explore within that field and word travels fast within tight knit communities.
Polish the resume, get some head shots, get a business card.
You should always be updating your resume, constantly keeping up to date with what’s expected of you as an applicant. If you need help, hire a professional, hire a friend who knows the lingo in your field. This is powerful because key words pertaining to that industry should be used on your resume. You’re going to make it a lot harder on yourself hiring someone who doesn’t understand the verbiage.
Hire a friend to take a couple head shots for your professional profiles online. This make a world of difference because people can now put a face to the name, and it looks like you took the time to be professional. That matters.
Get a business card, hand them out when you meet with people, make it clean, simple and put your contact info on there. Make sure you check your email once a day and be responsive. Make it as easy as possible for people to hire you. Canva or Vistaprint are great for making cards, and they’re cheap and easy to use.
Start with your friend base. Start by reaching out to your peers, your friends, family members in that field, depending on how close these relationships are, this can be quite beneficial. This is a technique where you’re networking, or more less betting, on your personality. You’ve spend a long time forging these relationships, and to some extent this is one way these friendships can blossom into fruitful, professional introductions to members in your industry of choice.
LinkedIn. Period. If you don’t have an up to date LinkedIn profile these days, you’re WAY behind the curve.
Put up a nice picture of you (show off those pearly white teeth), put an up-to-date professional history with dates, times and job descriptions, and focus on things you “actually” did at that job instead of what the generic job description may have been at the time. Try and focus on words that pertain to your job field like procurement, managing, assembled, interpreting blue prints, coordinated, etc. This catches the eye of recruiters and possible headhunters looking for new employees.
Get active! Start adding people you may know, import your contact list from your email, skim through Facebook contacts and search them on LinkedIn. You’d be surprised at how many people you know that can help jump-start your new career. Plus, if they’re a true friend and believe in the work you do, then I’m sure they’d want to help you out. I know I would if my friends asked.
Start searching companies that you’d consider applying to. Try searching “recruiter at ______ company” and start a convo there. Most companies these days have their own HR or headhunter personnel looking for new hires. They also have a whole job search platform, where you can search by niche, category and city. (Indeed.com is also a great way to find relevant jobs, and it’s FREE).
Join a professional society, or a networking group.
You can contact IEEE, ASME, ASHRAE, ASCE societies and pay a small fee to get plugged into a world of opportunities. They send you brochures, booklets, and meeting events, where you can meet professionals in their field.
You can also try getting on Meetups.com and meet with local professionals over a beer to chat life and work in your city. This part is HIGHLY crucial, and most people take face-to-face, non-professional meetings way too lightly. The power of sitting with someone in a chill and relaxed environment, allows people to get to know you for who you truly are. The main concern I’ve heard from interviewers and companies is, “Can I work with this person?” And “Do they fit the company culture?”
Join Chatengineer.com! Start the convo today, to grow closer to the dream job you’ve always wanted. We post projects, jobs, meetings and relevant information to the field of engineering in our Slack Channels. Oh, and it’s FREE! See you there.
We hope you enjoyed this post and good luck on growing your network!
“You should never stop growing your network. It’s like a seedling, when you stop watering it, it won’t grow, but if you water it a little each day, you’ll end up with an oak tree.”
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