How Networking Can Help You?
How many people have you met as of yet?
2,000, 5,000 or there is some other number?
The number may be less or vast but this is will lead to something important. Let us talk about the next question:
How many people (out of those you have met till now) can actually guide you?
Let us count them. Your parents for one, and then there maybe a couple of teachers, (if you are still in touch). Then there must be your seniors. What is the number then?
3, 4, or 10?
The list isn’t as exhaustive as you thought it would be, huh?
Networking can play a tremendous role in today’s world. Per a recent survey, 61 million users on LinkedIn are Senior Level Influencers and 40 Million are in the Decision Making Capacities. Some of you might think that users might be primarily based in the US, right?
Only 30% of the users are from the US.
Then there are certain those who believe networking is waste of time. Let us look over a testimonial:
“I was desperately looking for a job. It just happened one day that my manager from the last organization called me randomly. He asked if I am open to a job opportunity (LinkedIn) and offered me a job. Today, I am working with MindCypress with a handsome salary”, says Yogesh.
So, if you are looking for a job change, to study abroad, or a career perspective; it is good if you connect with your peers, professors or seniors. Not only they can present you with better opportunities, but they can help you with some important details which you might not have considered yet.
“I wanted to study abroad, in Australia specifically. The intent was to study Masters in Teaching but I wanted more options and considerations. I saw my school teacher online (on messenger) and asked for her help. She not only helped me avoid a blunder (the course modules of the course I was selecting were more or less same when compared to my B.Ed) but also helped me to connect with Alison (a University representative of University of West)”, says Himanshu, final year student from University of West, Scotland.
How to build and discover links?
First and foremost, make a LinkedIn profile and update it completely. Ensure that you are mentioning your objective and your aim in the subtitle. Profile photos should look professional. Then target to reach out to your old and new contacts.
Old Contacts: Upload your contact list (Phone, Gmail, and others) and send them an invite over LinkedIn.
New Contacts: Try and find professors, entrepreneurs, or people related to your domain. Connect with them, like their posts, blogs, and comment. It will help you to get noticed and might invite further candidates.
Once connected, send them a welcome message and ensure to text them a greetings message each week. Try to keep it professionally personal.
It would be great if you can ask for recommendation letters, skill suggestions from your peers, supervisors, teachers, professors. These will be of huge interest to your employers. Also, make a habit of writing a blog and updating or sharing a post thrice a week. Connect with people who like your posts, so their friends can also discover you.
These are little nitwits of networking. If you need more help, do feel free to get in touch!