A professional relationship involves two or more people collaborating to achieve and support a common cause, mission, goal, company, or organization. It is often more formal than those outside the workplace. Some examples include connecting with one’s direct supervisor, co-workers, clients, and mentors. Building these valuable relationships is known as networking and, ultimately, forms one’s professional network.
As other professionals get to know you and your career goals, they can provide firsthand knowledge of job opportunities, internships, and apprenticeships available in your field of interest. They can also provide additional information, such as prospective roles and responsibilities and input on the more prominent organizations in your industry. This industry-specific knowledge can help you identify areas of growth and development and help you make career decisions.
Regularly engaging with your network can help you stay current in your industry, assess how to contribute more to the community, and learn which organizations share your vision and values.
Once you start building your professional brand, networking can lead to opportunities that will enable you to hone specific skills. For example, become known as someone who often engages in public speaking, and you may have professionals reach out to you on LinkedIn to offer you the opportunity to present at various events that align with your expertise. The more you take on new opportunities, the more you can learn what tasks you enjoy, what management style you thrive under, and what support or accommodations you might need moving forward.
Although networking may seem daunting, it can prove invaluable in the long run. It can open doors you might never have known existed, build long-lasting relationships, and allow you to gain visibility within your industry.
You may be wondering, “Where do I begin?” or “How can I start creating professional relationships?”
A good place to start is with people already in your support network and with whom you have a close connection, such as professors and teachers, colleagues, co-workers, friends, and family. These are people who know you the best and have a deep understanding of the support, guidance, and mentorship you need.
You can also connect with industry leaders and professionals at career and resource events. These events are specifically designed to allow job seekers to ask questions and learn more about the different organizations. If you want to connect with the representative and learn more about an organization after an event, ask them for the best way to contact them. Many are happy to share their business cards or other ways to get in touch with them, which is beneficial to expanding your network and future opportunities.
Utilizing professional social media platforms like LinkedIn is a great way to network virtually with various employers, receive updates from individuals within your field, and find industry-related events to attend. You can use features like direct messages to interact with representatives and employees at prospective organizations and share your goals, aspirations, skills, talents, experiences, and abilities with them.
Once you understand who is in your network currently and who you may want to be in the future, you can start taking steps toward engaging with your connections and showcasing your skills.
To clarify why you want to network, ask yourself, “What is my purpose for networking? What do I hope to achieve?”
Use the answers to these questions to create a list of your overall goals. Setting goals can help you use your time, energy, and resources wisely. Another benefit to setting goals is creating your own timeline and breaking the larger networking task into smaller pieces to make it more manageable.
It can often be helpful to create a compelling 30-to-60-second elevator pitch to introduce yourself to other professionals and market your strengths, abilities, experience, and background. This can be useful in a handful of situations, such as networking events, job/career fairs, or even on professional social media platforms like LinkedIn. Company representatives only have a limited amount of time and often have many people approaching them, meaning a short elevator pitch could help to make a lasting impression.
An example of an elevator pitch could be, “Hello, my name is [your name], it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m a [insert current role] and have been working in [insert field] for the past [insert number] years. I’ve accomplished [insert achievement(s)]. Your work with [insert company] is inspiring, and I am interested in connecting to learn more about what you and your company do.”
Keeping in touch can be vastly beneficial once you have started forming new connections, even if it does not amount to a job. Celebrating milestones, acknowledging achievements, or simply checking in personally can show that you care about the people in your network. Maintaining this regular contact with your network fosters rapport, which leads to invaluable mentorship, recommendation letters, or job opportunities in the future.
Once you establish a strong relationship with professionals in your industry, this is a good time to set up an information interview, get their feedback on your current resume and job search documents, and discuss your career aspirations. Their experience is a direct way for you to gain more knowledge of the tasks and expectations of an employee within their industry.
Networking is an invaluable skill that can greatly help in your job search. If you put in the work, your connections can bring a wealth of knowledge, expertise, and understanding of the industry or position you are applying for.
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