The Power Of Networking
Over the course of the past 12 weeks, I was lucky to learn first-hand from industry professionals about the importance of networking along with other skills. Not only is it a very valuable skill to master but it also works to your advantage. Networking has become an easy task as there are many mediums where you can meet industry leaders, whether that be at conferences, online meetings in-person mixers, etc.
Post seminars, I have reached out to some of the speakers whose advice and career journey appealed to me. I created connections with a handful of them over LinkedIn and was lucky to receive some one on one advice as well. If you were to ask me “what are your key takeaways from interacting with these leaders?”, I would point out the following:
Taking risks can be scary but if you follow your heart and seize every opportunity to come your way, you will succeed.
No matter the field of marketing (Seo, data scientist, customer experience leader digital marketer, social media marketer, etc.) the power of creating the right connections will help you transition from one position to the next.
It’s never to change your career path if you have found a new passion.
Always have a goal that you are working for, whether that be for a campaign, project, or overall career. This will give you something to work towards.
Leverage all the experience you’ve gathered over the years. It doesn’t matter if the experience you have collected is over multiple different career fields since the majority of the skill you acquire are transferable.
To summarize these speakers have inspired me to put myself out there and to ask questions. By doing this I can actually benefit by meeting new people and coming across new and exciting positions/ opportunities. But what about networking now? Is it possible to connect with industry professionals during a pandemic? Certainly! Companies and networking social events have transferred their events online to make it accessible during this trying time. Mixers are held on Zoom and/or on other social media platforms. The great thing about moving these events online is that some of these networking events are now free!! This gives young professionals all the more reason to attend these events.
Interestingly I was able to land a coop opportunity through networking with an industry leader on LinkedIn. Although the position is only available in January, I am glad to have been able to secure a spot at a company that I am really eager to work for. This wouldn’t have been possible without networking!Through this experience, I was able to gain insight on how to benefit from networking.
Networking tips and best practices that I have learnt along the way would include:
Leverage social media platforms when creating connections especially LinkedIn.
If adding a connection on LinkedIn, include a note.
Leverage your skills when communicating with others in the same field.
Position yourself as a leader.
Be an active listener when engaging with new connections.
Thank you for reading !