Networking -How you benefit from it.

Networking -- " It is not what you know but who you know"

“Networking is not collecting contacts. It is about planting relations.” – Mishaat

What is the deal behind Networking?

• Networking is more of an habit not an art.
• Networking is not a substitute for knowledge.
• Networking is about building a personal Referral Network.

Where to Network??

EVERYWHERE

Yes Everywhere, We forget that as human beings we are social animals and hence we tend to network everywhere, However to target your network, you will specifically need to narrow this down. Below are few examples where you can start networking?

1. Your Current Job?-?You current job is the right place to start with your networking skills. You can choose to interact with the people who are not necessarily from your department and that gives a ground for talking about varied subjects.
2. Friends and Family -?Friends and Family are the best network possible, It is not necessary for everyone to be in the same job or to have similar field as yours, but your friends and family will be the first ones to help you and reach out to their connections in times of need, to see if they know anyone useful and so on and so forth.
3. Professional Associations -?One way of keeping in touch with your professional associations is to attend conferences or events organized by them. You can introduce yourself to other attendees and exchange business cards. You can also become an active member, for example by serving on a committee.
4. Alumni Associations-?Keeping in touch with the possible connections from the alumni directory of your college or Institute is the best possible way to be networking. Attending few events and then keeping in touch with fellow alumni's helps to become a people connector and a good referral partner.
5. Class Reunions -?With the advent of Facebook and?WhatsApp groups, there are no dearth of class reunions happening almost every year for your college and even your school friends. It is so easy to catch up with your school and college friends and these reunions proved a rich ground for the networking possibility.
6. Social Gatherings -?Since networking is ideally about forming genuine relationships, a social gathering can be the perfect place to make those connections. There is an opportunity to turn a Social activity to an Networking opportunity (without being creepy about it)
7. Fundraisers and other Charity Events -?Volunteering is a huge part of working in the charity sector, You can always spend some time to volunteer for any fundraising or charity event that is close to our heart and while you are at it, you can join any event and use your networking skills in a subtle way.
8. Business Conference and Workshops-?There are many Business referral Networking?groups across the continent with chapters all over India and especially one in your city or region.?for eg there is the?Ten network?Thane group for all Entrepreneurs in the Thane city. We also have the?BNI?chapters all over India, refer to their?website ?These networking groups may have some membership fees to be paid every year, but it is totally worth the connections and the referrals received in return.

Networking in Todays Time?

With the advent of Covid-19, every function that we have been doing has been impacted to a massive degree, changing how we behave and even interact with each other. Gone are the days when we can meet others at a conference or dinner for networking, However as they say Necessity is the mother of all invention, many businesses have found out other means of networking to keep functioning. To read more about Networking during the pandemic refer to this article which I found useful?Networking during?Pandemic.

To Conclude?

LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking site, but there are also many others that have mushroomed in todays day and date can be as effective as LinkedIn. However this topic is yet to be covered for another day. Let's aim at using LinkedIn to the fullest.