Networking – A building block in Woman’s Career!

Networking continues to be the Number ONE unwritten rule of success. It not only separates out the successful from the very successful but also gives the right momentum to get onto the corporate ladder. 

When I get an invitation for a dinner meeting, I usually get into dilemma, as I will have to choose between the Mom vs the Professional. I have missed many such opportunities where I could have met influential peers and superiors due to unavoidable priorities.

So what, if we cannot knock back beers in those dinners or play golf on weekends with the boss, like our colleagues do? We still have a lot of other ways to form good and useful relationships and here are some useful hints:

Expand our Horizon        

While we usually are part of Organizations based on our own professions, we should also choose a couple that work on social causes. We can volunteer for events that are of interest to us, which will get some good connections, as people who attend would share the common interest.

Networking is mutual and people would like us to be visible and popular, and these kind of events will pave way for popularity in the locale. Beyond networking, we also get a personal take away of giving back to the society!

Get beyond Facebook

Joining networking web sites that focus on helping professionals connect and learn would be good step forward. Exclusive sites like Theglasshammer.com supplies up-to-date news and tips to those women who are trying to break the glass ceiling. There are many other sites which are focused on corporate network building. Being active on these sites is very important as that also helps to keep our branding up.

Attend networking events

We should make time to attend the networking events like corporate meetings, industry wide forums - which are potential sources for building a good network. Amidst our daily chores at home, we need to free up ourselves to join the club.

We should look out to network with men in particular, as we usually tend to flock with our own breed. Given the fact the corporate world is more masculine, we need to find a way to get into the Old Boys Network!

We need to be genuinely interested in people and getting to know them, by asking questions about their work, friends and hobbies. Women have this quality naturally, as our brains are wired to listen more heartily. We can use this to our advantage and turn an ordinary acquaintance to a well-connected network.

Maintain the Relationships

Building a network is one aspect, but maintaining that is more vital. We usually miss to keep in touch with people like ex-colleagues, college-mates, who definitely are better people to offer suggestions, ideas as they know us well.

Networking is like Exercise – we know we must do it, and so we will! We don’t have to a Black Belt at it, but a sincere try will sure take us a long way!

Until next month!