Do you find academic networking challenging at times?
In the following article, I will share some tips and effective networking strategies to help you build meaningful connections and enhance your career. I will explore how you can leverage conferences, academic societies, social media and other networks (online or in-person) to build meaningful professional relationships and uncover job opportunities in a competitive job market.
Why is networking important in Academia?
Attending networking events could keep you informed of key developments in your field. You would have the opportunity to introduce yourself to other scholars, tell them about your work and forge collaborations across borders. You might hear about new job openings and funding opportunities. You may receive invitations to other academic events. You may discuss industry trends with others and develop new innovative ideas. See the real benefits of academic networking.
Where to network?
In-person networking could cover a range of events. You could attend networking events for business professionals if this is your area of interest. You could join academic societies, workshops, masterclasses, seminars, and reading groups, and take part in conferences. As part of your job, you might attend some Continuous Professional Development (CPD) courses. Learn more about CPD here.
When you attend events, you might want to decide in advance what your objective would be for attending the event. If you can, do research the participants’ list and ask yourself: Who would I like to introduce yourself to? Who might be helpful to collaborate with? Do take advantage of informal networking such as coffee breaks, buffet lunches and post-conference dinners as these could provide some fantastic opportunities to connect with others.
Embrace social media
First, you need to be clear on what you want to achieve by having a social media presence. Are you looking to build your connections and ensure that you can keep in touch with former colleagues? Would you like to be better informed of trends and developments in your sector? Are you looking for a job and would like to enhance your professional profile? Do you want to develop credibility? Are you planning to take up a job in the education sector and learn about job prospects?
LinkedIn is one of the largest social networking sites and is designed for individuals to make meaningful connections. If you have never really dipped your toe into the area of professional networking, LinkedIn could be a great place to start.
Set an objective
If you are new to networking, it could be useful to set some objectives before the event. For example, you might decide that you want to introduce yourself to 10 people at each event. You might want to commit to attending one face-to-face event on a weekly or fortnightly basis. You could develop a list of events to attend in the next few weeks. If you would like to do online networking, you could set out to spend 1 or 2 hours each week developing contacts via online platforms.
If you would like to have your own networking goals, you might find the following template (called networking development action plan) useful.
Identify what holds you back
It is a good idea to explore what might hold you back. Do you lack confidence? Are you concerned that you may not be able to find the right words to introduce yourself? Do you worry that you might not be able to ask the right questions? You could explore these challenges in advance and find a solution. If you are worried about introducing yourself, you could create a simple 1-minute introduction (also called an elevator pitch) in advance and practice it before the networking event. If you are concerned about not being able to ask the right questions, you could brainstorm a list of questions in advance.
Many people struggle with circulating. Do you find it easy to move on and talk to others? After you talk to a participant, you may not see a potential for a professional relationship. In this case, you would need to close the conversation politely and move on to talk to somebody else. You could say: ‘It has been lovely chatting with you. I am going to introduce myself to others. Would you like to come with me and talk to other participants?’
If you lack confidence from time to time, you might find some good tips in this article.
Be realistic
Networking is a bit like gardening. First, you need to consistently put in hard work, attend events, and follow up. You may however not see any results in the short term. However, if you continue with the process and you keep on developing your skills, you will start reaping the benefits of networking soon. Some people mistakenly think that networking is just chatting with other people. Although a small part of networking may include informal conversations, it is useful to think of networking as work.
Sarah, who is a researcher at a well-known university in South East England, found that she did not experience any results from her networking. After months of attending conferences, Sarah realised that she had spent most of her time engaging in informal conversations. She decided to try a new experiment. She imagined that her boss asked her at the end of each event a series of questions to check how productively she spent her time e.g. what she has accomplished, how many people she introduced herself to, and who she needs to follow up with. This visualisation exercise helped her to be more focused and productive, and she has developed some great collaborations as a result of her new approach.
Networking is a skill which we can all develop. If you consistently improve your academic networking skills and attend a range of professional events, you will soon start benefitting from networking.
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