Hate Networking? Here’s How to Do it Right…

Know where you want to go and make sure the right people know about it.

Meredith Mahoney

Are you one of the many who are reluctant to attend Networking events? Then when you do, sit quietly in a corner with no interaction just green with envy? That’s the story of many who hate networking. But it’s a necessary thing to do especially if you are planning to Ditch your Job or Switch it to entrepreneurship. Networking is interacting with others to exchange information and develop professional or social contacts.

Dr. Marcia Ballinger shared her article titled I Hate Networking and tips to do it right. Here I share 3 favs:

Networking Tips

1. Learn from and Focus on Others. A networking meeting is meant for you to learn from and focus on the other person. Not yap about yourself
2. Get To Know and Build Relationships. The people you are connecting with will almost never have a job. They will, however, have wisdom and ideas, connections and information. Networking is about getting to know the person and making/building a relationship. Job possibilities follow
3. Engage in Meaningful Conversations. Networking is about having meaningful questions to ask the person you’re meeting. You actually end up doing very little talking. 

To dig a little deeper, here’s a discussion I had with Soft Skills Coach Maxine Barnett. Listen as she gives tips on how to do it right.

Pulling a good network together takes effort, sincerity and time.

Alan Collins

Is there anything missing or is there anything that resonates with you? Do share. We would love to hear.

Cheers!