From the course: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Networking

Looking deeper into your profession to excel

From the course: The Ultimate Guide to Professional Networking

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Looking deeper into your profession to excel

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- I'm big on finding networking opportunities in ways that aren't always direct, but looking at the most obvious groups in your industry can still be fertile ground for opportunities to build your network. I'll use my experience as an attorney. I prefer indirect networking, where I'm around non-lawyers, but some lawyers can do well by staying in the profession. That may mean serving as the chair of a committee for the state bar. It might mean going to the annual state bar event or to a local bar association based in one city or another. For example, I'm a member of the LA Jolla Bar Association, the State IP section, and have been part of the County Bar. Beyond simply attending meetings, there can be opportunities to volunteer, mentor, or even have someone mentor you. There are two realities I want you to keep in mind about this, though. Number one, understand that the same kind of associations are out there for virtually every profession. Maybe you didn't know that there are groups related to your niche. I once spoke to a project manager who had never thought about networking with other project managers. It turns out that there are multiple project management associations. Second, be aware that while networking within your industry can be useful, you have to guard against overextending yourself into the associations and organizations if you want to build a broad network. That's because the time you need to invest in your professional organizations is often high in proportion to the return you get from it. For example, a property manager should be focused on looking for property owners, not helping the property manager's association, but that doesn't mean a property manager shouldn't attend an annual meeting or attend the occasional local meetup with others in the industry, or learn new things and connect. That sort of networking can lead to business deals, but on the whole, stay vigilant as to how you spread your time networking, because you only have so much time, and you want to invest it wisely.

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