The Career Catapult by Roopa Unnikrishnan

Author:Roopa Unnikrishnan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Career Press
Published: 2017-03-15T04:00:00+00:00

IV. Actively Grow and Marshall Your Network

How do you find these people who meet the criteria and should be part of your network? The answer is simple: go where people are, look and listen, and meet and greet until you find the right people, those with the expertise and sense of collegiality you need.

When I say “go where the right people are,” I’m thinking in particular of three geographies: social media, events and conferences, and organizational hierarchies.

To begin with, this is an age of active social media networks, in which professional groups have developed online networks to supplement and complement the real-life networks that guide their thinking and real-time decisions. Do you know who is most influential in your network of peers and clients? Only by identifying those people can you target them for outreach. Even if such people may not proactively take steps to help you, they may talk about you, so you want to make sure you’re proactively talking to them and are helpful to them.

That’s why it is so important to be on Twitter, Facebook, and professional sites and to go to key events. Those are the places where you can identify the people others ask for advice, or see who gets the most “Likes,” or notice the folks people make sure they say hello to. You should also check Klout—and similar social media analytics sites—to monitor who is influential in an industry or discipline. Similarly, a search on LinkedIn lets you see who shows up when you search for your product space and in your geography. Make a note and watch what they comment on. These are the people you want to follow.

You also want to cultivate a broad network across divisions and up and down the hierarchy; such a network within the organization is essential when you need to exchange ideas and rally collaborative support. Maintaining an internal network and a Rolodex of intra-organizational contacts that extends well beyond your own work unit means that when you are ready, you can send your ideas throughout the organization and be sure you will be heard. Do you routinely check in with leaders you have met to find out what’s on their minds and how you might go beyond your current job to help them do theirs?

By the same token, do you promote collaboration and remove obstacles to teamwork across the organization? The us-against-them mentality when talking about other divisions is both foolish and self-defeating. Instead, do you invite representatives from other divisions into your team meeting in order to share what you are learning from your clients? You should.

Do you regularly and openly acknowledge the individuals on your team? Apart from the effect this is likely to have on their work, they may advance to other parts of the organization and can be connectors for you in the future.

Finally, keep a networking mindset always. I discovered an app called Timehop, which reminds you of what you were thinking of in previous years; that is, two years ago, five years ago, and so on.

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