There is More to Networking Than Meeting People

A good friend of mine, a female we will refer to as Megan, mentioned to me the other day that she has a problem networking. She is an attractive young woman who works in PR, the same work that I cut my teeth on, but has ultimately failed at networking.

I gave Megan some quick advice and I figured I would share it with all of you.

Network with a purpose: Megan is not an effective at networking because she has nothing to base being effective on. If Megan meets a hundred people that can give her no clear networking advantage, Megan has failed. I always act like I am looking for a job, even if it’s for a friend, and I try to network with influential people that can employee me or other people. Dating, getting invites to events, meeting people in a different career field are all valuable ways to gauge your networking.

Networking is not about you: Megan is a great girl, but she knows it. She tends to talk about herself and her past a little too much. I live life based on Dale Carnegie, I let people talk about themselves and interject when only necessary to spur on more conversation.

Seal the deal: Networking is a long and drawn out process, but don’t make introductions that way. Get in, make your introductions, be polite and listen, then move on and meet new people. When trying to network don’t fall into the trap of talking with the same person all night.

Your friends are the enemy: I love hanging out with my friends, that is why they are my friends, but when it comes to networking they are a nightmare. I can spend all night chatting with my friends about nothing and have a great time, but I haven’t networked. If you must network with a wingman use each other as a tool to spur on conversation or set a limit to how much time you will actually chat with your friends.

I would love to see what some of you out there have to say about networking. Feel free to write me or leave a comment on this post.

-Anthony

Join Baratunde Thurston (left), The Onion’s Director of Digital and author of How to Be Black, for an entertaining look at creative social media campaigns in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. Other speakers include Morin Oluwole (Facebook), Tim Devane (bitly), and SocialTimes' writer Devon Glenn.   Register now.