Building a Professional Network

From Mary's News Box
by Mary Crane

http://www.marycrane.com/readMaryNewsletter.jsp?newsletter_id=20

A graduate of George Washington Law School, Mary Crane lobbied in Washington D.C. for nearly ten years before pursuing her life-long interest in food and wine. Crane enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America and, upon graduation, worked at the White House as an assistant chef. During this time, Crane discovered the interplay of food, wine, and business. Her desire to share this unique knowledge yielded Mary Crane & Associates.

Today, Mary travels North America delivering high impact, high energy programs to Fortune 500 companies and more than 50% of the AmLaw100. She helps new employees quickly assimilate in today’s fast-paced work environment. She also helps managers understand how to best recruit, motivate, and retain today’s newest workers.

Mary has been featured on 60 Minutes, Fox Business News and ABC Radio. She has been quoted extensively in a variety of print and electronic media, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes.com, and Fortune.com.

BUILDING A PROFESSIONAL NETWORK

The people who not only survived—but thrived—during the Great Recession of 2009 were the people who had previously invested time and effort building strong personal and professional networks. In some cases, these people had access to more information about developments in their industry, something that allowed them to prepare for the downturn. In other cases, as unemployment rose, these intrepid networkers received early information about work opportunities as they developed. And in virtually all cases, these people had a bevy of contacts upon whom they could lean for pure emotional support.

The most effective networks are the ones that are consciously constructed and carefully nurtured. To the extent that you are helping someone think through their own networking needs, consider the following general guidelines:


Networking Guidelines

1. Start by understanding who and what you currently know.

Unless you’re a recluse, odds are you interact with lots of people on a day-to-day basis. To begin building your network, create a list of the people you know personally and a separate list of the people you know professionally. Then, go through both lists and quantify how frequently you connect with these people. Make a note as to whether most of your connections are face-to-face or electronic.

Make yet another list of the organizations to which you belong. With each organization, note how frequently you attend its meetings and events. It might also be worth noting whether you always attend the same one or two organizational events, though the organization hosts others that have piqued your interest. For example, you have consistently attended the local bar association’s tax section education programs but never signed up for the association’s young lawyers monthly get-together.

Ask yourself how frequently you add new contacts to your network. Also, examine the extent to which you regularly offer to help your contacts by providing them with information or put them in touch with others.

2. Identify your goals.

People build personal and professional networks for a variety of reasons. Make sure you understand your own goals.

If you are a new graduate looking to land your first job, your networking goals might include: Acquiring loads of information about any possible job openings; gaining some visibility among adults who are not your college peers; and acquiring the opportunity to make personal connections with people who can provide advice and support.

If you are an established professional who now seeks to use your network for business development purposes, networking goals might include: Deepening your relationships with current clients; identifying prospective clients; and becoming viewed by colleagues as a trusted professional to whom they would feel comfortable referring business.

3. Look at a variety of different types of groups.

Ideally, personal and professional networks help provide access to extremely diverse skill sets. So don’t hesitate to choose groups and activities that are unrelated to your chosen career path or profession. And, in order to ensure that you regularly attend group meetings and events, choose groups and activities that you truly enjoy.

Some research suggests that among the most effective networking opportunities are those that incorporate some type of “shared activity.” These are unscripted activities organized around a common point of interest, for example, roll-up-your-sleeve events like preparing food in a soup kitchen or sorting collected clothing to be sent to a disaster relief area. According to the research, networkers at “shared activity” events are more likely to engage in genuine conversations and thereby get to know each other more thoroughly. (See B. Uzzi and S. Dunlap, “How To Build Your Network,” Harvard Business Review, December 2005).

Feel free to join groups where you’ll primarily meet people over a coffee and Danish or cocktails, but make sure you also join groups that host “shared activity” events.

4. Recognize that building a network takes time.

The most effective networks are comprised of people who know and trust each other, and trust rarely develops overnight. For this reason, make sure to reach out to members of your network regularly, at least every three to six months. Electronic updates are fine, but face-to-face connections help deepen relationships faster.

And by the way, for the same reason, get started on building your network right now. Don’t put it off until fall. And certainly, don’t put it off until the next economic downturn. You know you need a network. Start building it today.

5. Be prepared to help others.

If you think networking is all about you, you couldn’t be more wrong. Successful networkers make sure they give to others as well as take. Every time someone helps you (points you to a job opening, suggests how you can improve your résumé, refers some business to you), make sure you quickly follow-up with your thanks. Then, look for ways that you can return the favor.



Before you...attend a networking event, make sure (you) are aware of the following five practical networking tips:

Networking Tips:

1. Before attending the event, prepare your introduction. This should include your name and one or two sentences that tell the other person something about who you are and what you do. Make your introduction memorable. In fact, view this as your own 30-second commercial.

2. Eat something before attending a networking event. Throughout the event, your focus should stay on making new contacts, not satisfying hunger pangs. And whatever you do, don’t make the mistake of grabbing a drink and a plateful of nibbles at the same time.

3. Everyone attends networking events with the understanding that they have a responsibility to mingle. Use the business card exchange to bring conversations to an end. After a brief conversation, simply say, “I enjoyed talking with you and would like to stay in touch. Do you have a business card?”

4. As soon as you leave the event, review the business cards that you have collected and make notes regarding specific conversations. Then, in the days, weeks and months that follow, use this information to constantly reconnect with people in your network.

5. Follow-up. Attending a networking event is the first step to building a relationship. Follow-up with people regularly, making sure that you give just as much information, assistance, and support as you receive.