“Your network is your net worth.”-Porter Gale
Gone is the days when connecting with people was limited to conferences or dinner meetings or traveling long hours to host a short meetup. With the advent of Covid 19, networking has undergone a massive change that was unanticipated. Networking has unfolded in many ways, among which all have tagged it as indispensable. It wouldn’t be wrong to term networking as ‘Hobson’s choice’. Some ways to create social capital are as follows:
- Building up your digital presence — Various social media platforms have played a major role in building a brand presence for multiple organizations. Be it on Instagram, LinkedIn, or Twitter, it is important to upgrade one’s profile and keep it up to date. One can also post daily content so as to engage their audience which in turn will lead to fruitful connections. For professionals and recruiters, you are not what you say about yourself but what your LinkedIn profile says about you.
- Being explicit about your offering — One must know what it can offer in a marketplace to give people a clear idea. Whether the firm is involved in virtual assistant jobs or any B2C business, they must keep their digital assets aligned and should be ready to pitch their offering whenever demanded.
3. Being open to technology — Zoom, Google Meet, and FaceTime have become the new networking tools. They have replaced meetings in conference rooms with meetings in virtual rooms. Joining these calls with your colleagues, mentors, and clients allow you to ascend your career ladder and learn from the best in business. Being tech-savvy can help you connect with people across borders and enhance your international presence. Networking is more about connecting innovative ideas and opportunities than meeting just people.
4. Connecting with industry experts — Whatever job you are in doesn’t lower the need to associate with the experts in their respective domains. Send them requests, and cold emails as people love to be useful. Taking lessons from their skills and guidance will help you reach the apex of your career at a faster pace. Their experience will tell you things that Google won’t.
5. Creativity along with curiosity — Being creative can help immensely in connecting with people’s emotions. One can send personalized notes or letters through social media platforms or can plan virtual dinners with the clients so as to make them feel pleasant. Adding a personal touch is inspired by the book How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.
Even post-pandemic, these ways of networking will tend to dominate and will leave an ever-lasting impact on one’s professional life as people crave connection. “What is here to stay, what we should have learned from the pandemic, is to be a more effective networker. Send shorter messages, have more impactful conversations within the time limit, learn to start and end on time, and be respectful of a person’s time”, said Dr. Roshni Rao. To conclude, Networking may not win you a 100-meter dash but you can surely ace a marathon.
Written By: Mani for The Growup Group