Networking. It's a given, right? Maybe not so, how much thought do you put in to your professional, and social, network. What is it really all about? How does it work?
I would like to show you a slightly different perspective, a view from someone setting up a network. I know, such an odd comment but let me try to fill you in. As a young adult, growing as a professional engineer, I never put much thought into keeping in contact with people. My personality would have played a big part in this, think of the labels 'shy' or 'an introvert'. All this meant that my contacts list was neglected, it never grew, was not nutured. As I am looking for the next role in my career, it is time to plant some seeds and start to reach out to people.
Do you remember as your contacts started to increase? Do you still work on that expansion periodically? Frequently?
Social media gives us great tools for this, so my LinkedIn profile has been polished and updated, the Facebook account is used more that once a quarter, my own personal website has more content added. I feel that these are the front pages of my expanding frontier. I want people to see these, if they can't see me, and learn something about me. There is always a push for the highest quality; whether it be a post on my Flickr portfolio or just that one sentence under my name in LinkedIn. My best foot must be put forward.
Was does your profile say about you? If this is the first people learn about you, what impression does it give them?
The question of 'who does this person know?' is an obvious one but not something that was natural to me. Remember I'm an engineer and so by stereotypical nature more interested in things. Most of the people I deal with are talking about things, supplied parts, manufactured parts, machinery.
Start talking to the people.
The process of expanding a contacts list would be 101 for sales and marketing, this is not something that is covered in engineering education. Work is being applied to connect with people, such as adding people on networking sites or keeping the details of someone spoken to over the phone. It must also be important to add value to the other person, after all they are taking the energy to talk/email/message you. What can be achieved by working together?
It is an interesting project, watching and waiting to see how it grows. With my generation working globally, the list must be international and will involve dealing with people I may never meet in person. I am in a wonderful postion to be almost able to throw a dart at the map and decide where life will take me but it will be who I know and not what I know that will take me there.
I would like to show you a slightly different perspective, a view from someone setting up a network. I know, such an odd comment but let me try to fill you in. As a young adult, growing as a professional engineer, I never put much thought into keeping in contact with people. My personality would have played a big part in this, think of the labels 'shy' or 'an introvert'. All this meant that my contacts list was neglected, it never grew, was not nutured. As I am looking for the next role in my career, it is time to plant some seeds and start to reach out to people.
Do you remember as your contacts started to increase? Do you still work on that expansion periodically? Frequently?
Social media gives us great tools for this, so my LinkedIn profile has been polished and updated, the Facebook account is used more that once a quarter, my own personal website has more content added. I feel that these are the front pages of my expanding frontier. I want people to see these, if they can't see me, and learn something about me. There is always a push for the highest quality; whether it be a post on my Flickr portfolio or just that one sentence under my name in LinkedIn. My best foot must be put forward.
Was does your profile say about you? If this is the first people learn about you, what impression does it give them?
The question of 'who does this person know?' is an obvious one but not something that was natural to me. Remember I'm an engineer and so by stereotypical nature more interested in things. Most of the people I deal with are talking about things, supplied parts, manufactured parts, machinery.
Start talking to the people.
The process of expanding a contacts list would be 101 for sales and marketing, this is not something that is covered in engineering education. Work is being applied to connect with people, such as adding people on networking sites or keeping the details of someone spoken to over the phone. It must also be important to add value to the other person, after all they are taking the energy to talk/email/message you. What can be achieved by working together?
It is an interesting project, watching and waiting to see how it grows. With my generation working globally, the list must be international and will involve dealing with people I may never meet in person. I am in a wonderful postion to be almost able to throw a dart at the map and decide where life will take me but it will be who I know and not what I know that will take me there.