NETWORKING FOR BEGINNERS
NETWORK NETWORK NETWORK! We hear this all the time but never really realize the importance it has on our careers. Whether you're in fashion, engineering, education, medicine, it does not matter. We all have to network if we want to know more about things and others within our designated industry. It is crazy, being an introverted extrovert myself, I am still trying to master the art of networking. Here are my #net4 (networking 4) tips that I've realized I need to work on and maybe they can help you too!
1. FIND EVENTS AND PREPARE
When I know I want to learn more about something or meet people in a certain industry, I literally google ( yes google) events in my city. For example; "Fashion events in Denver" and fill up my calendar with events that I am interested in. You can create business cards if you'd like. There are places like vistaprint and bizcardmaker which can help you create without breaking the bank. I also like to try to make my outfits stand out so that it creates a starting point for conversation (subscribe for my next post on vamping up your networking style)!
2. GO
You think this is a duhhhh but when you are like me sometimes it is hard. You freak yourself out with questions and questions about this and that but you have to put those aside and be determined to GO. I have to get out of my comfort zone of Netflix, social media, and books and literally tell myself "ok just be yourself and meet people." You can even do some power poses, which I feel can help boost your confidence. Finally, show those bright whites!
3. Be Present
When you are at events and meeting people, one thing that you have to do is close your mouth and keep your ears open. This is the hardest part for me. I am actually quite terrible at it so I am taking this step on as a challenge. People appreciate a good listener because it makes them feel important. After all, they are! This also goes along with keeping good eye contact (another thing I hopped on the struggle bus for). Focus on the person who is speaking and try not to look around. Paying attention is key. I am guilty of interrupting or talking over someone (anyone else?) I hope it is not just me here! So this is another thing I'll be working on!
4. Follow Up
This tip is crucial because if you do not do it, it defeats the purpose of your entire networking process! This is the hardest part because you have to realize you will not be able to follow up with everyone and some contacts will fall through, but do not get your hopes down. Just take that and see what you can do differently to follow through!
Those are my #NET4 tips which I hope helped you out! You can use the #net4 and #dress4net Instagram hashtags for pictures of your networking events and let me know YOUR tips and tricks as we network through life together!