Professional Networks

By Alida Franco

Whether you freelance as a writer, own your own business, or are part of a corporate environment, networking should play an active part in your role as a professional. Clearly, with the advent Facebook, Linked in®, Twitter and numerous other types of social networking utilities, technology has made connecting with others a much easier task. But the question I would like to raise is: “Are these technological connections in and of themselves sufficient for you to be truly networked?” Connection on a direct human level, even via technology, allows you to communicate so much more—your creativity, your ingenuity in solving problems, and your sincere interest and commitment to remaining an active participant in a professional community. So for this reason, I have tasked myself with digging a bit deeper and presenting some useful strategies on how to gain traction in building solid relationships while networking face-to-face.

Creating the opportunity

Let’s begin by defining some of the elements of networking. I believe that for a network to be effective, you must demonstrate a sincere intention to connect. You must create a bridge so that communication is bi-directional. And you must initiate, manage, and continue those relationships and, above all, invest the time and effort necessary to maintain the relationships that you have built.

Take for example the following situation. Let’s say that you are trying to drum up some work for your business and have decided to join a new professional organization. You have completed all of the necessary membership forms, have checked the organization’s calendar, and have planned to attend the next meeting. You arrive at the meeting equipped with plenty of business cards and an updated copy of your resume (just in case someone should ask). You approach your first professional, introduce yourself as a new member, and state your name.

Your next step, and here is the critical part, is to engage your listener in drawing a clear picture of what he or she does. This is your golden opportunity to understand how exactly you can connect with the individual you have engaged in conversation. Yet all too often, we interject comments about ourselves before we have a clear picture of how this individual may contribute to our network. Herein lies the error. For example, during the discussion, you may find out that the professional does something that you have experience in, or does something in which you would like to gain some experience. At those points, it is appropriate to interject that you are interested in finding work in that area because you already have the skill set, are looking to learn more about that area of work because you want to develop a skill set, or simply enjoy doing the same type of work. Think about the strategy here. First, you already know plenty about yourself, so you need to consciously view the exchange first and foremost as an opportunity to learn about someone else and how they can contribute to your network. In other words, take the responsibility to guide the discussion to seek common ground. Do not put that responsibility on the other professional, don’t cut the opportunity short, and don’t worry about covering a lot of ground by making a number of contacts in one evening. If the networking is important, take the time to do it right.

The discussion you have that evening may not yield immediate results, but that is not its intended purpose. Your goal is to build a network of bridges that enable you to refer and be referred for future work, seek advice from others when faced with new professional challenges, and in general, build professional support. If your goal were simply to find a job or immediate contract, your efforts would be better spent checking out job lists and posting your skills in professional directories.

Sharing to stay connected

Once you establish a connection, you will want to follow up. You may have left the initial conversation with the intention to talk again or meet again. Regardless of how you left it, follow through. Unless the other professional stated that they would contact you, take the responsibility to follow up. If you have made a good impression, you will want to not only reinforce the remembrance of that impression soon after the initial meeting but also begin to build and subsequently maintain a solid professional relationship.

One technique I use to stay connected once a relationship has be established is to share information, contacts, and opportunities as they arise and as they are appropriate. Don’t operate in a vacuum—sharing job leads, referrals, technical information, new trends, or bartering services is important in maintaining relationships within a network. For example, I may be researching a concept or information for a project that I am working on and come across something that I think another professional would find informative or useful. I typically forward the information or an online link to the other person with a short note. Again, this not only builds professionalism within the community by extending the community to other professional areas i.e. networking with other networks, but also it allows me to consciously maintain the “state of networking.” And, on a more practical side, it allows me the opportunity to reconnect and reinforce the networked relationship that I have initiated.

How often have we compiled numerous business cards or created extensive social networks via technology without really knowing who the professionals are? Typically, those contacts end up as dead-ends and eventually get filed in the actual or virtual trash bin.

Promote yourself by promoting others

Although I am not always looking for work, I try and keep abreast of who is hiring in my profession and in what areas. This helps me remain current on the upward and downward trends in my profession. And, in so doing, I employ another very useful networking technique. I often send job announcements that target others inside or outside the immediate professional group. For example, I belong to a few job lists for technical communicators that from time to time list jobs for web and graphic designers. I know two such designers that remain outside the domain of technical communications and often forward these types of announcements to them.

Additionally, if I know a colleague is unemployed or seeking additional work, I often forward information on new jobs or contracts that I have acquired via my professional network. I find that much information about contract, part-time, or even employment for direct hires seems to circulate, at least initially, by word of mouth. In other words, many job announcements never get posted.

I have also worked on projects that begin to grow after their initial inception and require skills that extend beyond my ability to deliver. As a professional service to my clients, I like to have ready a list of names to refer other professionals who can provide those skill sets. Another reason is to fully understand the professional skill set and work ethic of the people you network with. I do not make it a practice to refer “friends” or other professionals with whom I have little knowledge of the work they have done. I consider referrals a reflection of my own professionalism and don’t want to jeopardize my good standing with a client. It may take numerous working hours to build a client relationship, but it only takes one bad experience to destroy it. So, get to know the professionals with which you network so that you can refer them when you can’t fill a particular role. If they are true professionals, the chance is that they will reciprocate the gesture and refer work to you in the future.

Going the extra mile

I find that some members of my professional network are worth putting in some extra time with. These, of course, are long-term contacts, typically people I have either worked with or done business with. And these are the people that I refer to clients or call upon to seek advice when faced with new professional challenges. I consider these my “senior networking contacts”. In any case, they deserve special attention.

With my senior contacts, I try and keep up with any new developments in their work. This may necessitate meeting for a periodic coffee or lunch, but I find these meetings refreshing and stimulating. With the constant changes in my particular profession, technical communications, I am able to keep up with their evolution as professionals, and the fascinating, new projects that they are involved in. Often, they are coincidentally pursuing a path that overlaps with my current work or are working on something that I would like to pursue. Again, I take these opportunities to share contacts and information or propose new ideas, and we both come away feeling that something has been gained.

The essence of networking

None of the ideas presented in this discussion are particularly new or innovative. In fact, regardless of your profession or business, many of you may find that you are already successfully using many of them. My purpose here is to revisit the somewhat elusive subject of the art of networking, dust it off, and give you an opportunity to reflect on your own strategies.

In closing, I would like to reiterate what I believe to be the three essential elements of effective networking: intention, investment, and sustainability.

Networking is more about your intention to connect than any other action you can take. My yoga instructor often says that if you put intention into your practice, the rest will follow. I think that this is true of networking. If you demonstrate a sincere desire to connect, the connection will take root, grow, and present the necessary opportunities. Don’t overlook its relevance and importance.

Networking is about investment. Okay, you have created stunning business cards, an impressive resume, and a provocative website. But, have you invested the time and effort and trust it takes to cultivate the human relationships so vital to a successful business or working environment?

Finally, networking requires sustainability to be effective. Having ten professional connections that maintain bi-directional communication is better than having 1,000 unidirectional connections through a social network. Don’t get in over your head by trying to cultivate too many relationships too fast. Put your intention to connect into each and every important contact, and take the time to invest the effort. The results will not disappoint you.

About the author:

Alida Franco is the sole proprietor of Communiqué, LLC, which provides technical communication services and consulting to the greater Denver metropolitan area. For further discussion on this subject, you can reach Alida by email at Alida Franco