From the course: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Networking

Finding what others are doing—and when to avoid that

From the course: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Networking

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Finding what others are doing—and when to avoid that

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- It sounds almost funny to say, but not many people talk about networking. However, that doesn't mean you can't discover some good ideas by asking around your workplace to see what your colleagues are doing. There might be some good opportunities that you'd never thought of. But remember, your goal isn't to follow the crowd just for the sake of it. You very well might pick up some cool ways to make lifelong connections by following what others are doing. On the other hand, you might also learn what not to do from listening to your colleagues. When you ask what others in your profession are doing with their networking efforts, also ask them how they feel about the effectiveness of what they're doing. Many people do something they feel is networking, but when you press them for more details, they'll give you clues that what they're really doing is not networking at all or that it's something that's just not effective. Red flag phrases to watch out for include that the activity is quote unquote, more of a passion for them or that they're doing quote unquote, a giveback. These are indications that you can probably skip what they're doing. That's because you need to build a network with your networking time and not just engage in a social activity simply because you like the people or it sounds fun. I want to give you two other things to remember when vetting these other possible networking opportunities. First, if you discover that some of your colleagues are doing well with some of their networking efforts, ask if you can join them. But only if you think that there's room for you as well. You don't want to cannibalize the work your colleague has done and ended up not getting the full value out of your efforts as well. Instead, you can learn why that colleague is successful with their networking effort and then replicate that in a different angle somewhere else. Second, remember that the same thing that works for one person may not work for another. It may depend on the mindset of the person. For example, lawyers often think that going to a bar association meeting is a good networking event, but that's only going to be true if the lawyer has the specific intention to generate real connections. Not everyone who goes to those meetings shares that intention. When I network with my own profession, my goal is to build a referral system and then, to help people know when they can use my services and to know when I can use theirs. That can be delicate and it takes some nuance to pull off properly. It also works if your professional specialty is sufficiently different from others in attendance. And that's the last thing to remember. If everyone at the networking event is capable of providing the same service, then the event is probably not worth your time. Let's use realtors as an example. A realtor looking for new clients would not be well-served going to a realtor meetup, attended by nothing but other realtors, but it might very much be worth their time if the event included, say a real estate investor group where the potential customers might be present. Ask around and look for clues and what others are doing with their networking, but analyze each situation and only follow through on the opportunities that will truly benefit you.

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