The NEW Networking
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Networking: You may call it contact-development, relationship-building or career investment. Certainly it touches on all those things - and if you’re doing it, you know it can eat up time, which few of us have to spare.
Still, even as technology has connected us 24/7 to work, it has also opened all kinds of bridges and bypasses that bring new efficiencies to the notion of identifying, meeting and staying in touch - whether it’s with those who might end up doing business with us, advancing our careers or helping us find solutions to work-related problems.
But the new networking isn’t just a product of technological advances: Some people are simply inventive, and as they see a need for a new way to address common career concerns, they create networking groups to focus on them.
Here’s a look at some of the approaches that may help bring efficiencies to your search for contacts and efforts to stay in touch with the people and businesses you’ve identified as valuable.
Peer-to-peer networking
Career phase-specific groups are popping up to focus on such issues as first-job basics, work-family balance and retirement planning. Such forums help you bypass listening to others talk about topics that aren’t a specific concern to you - instead, you address issues head-on with others on the same path.
At the Career 101 stage, professional associations are forming young-professional spin-offs or special interest groups in which newbies can zero in on basics, from the industry’s overview to office politics - from asking for a raise or knowing when to move on.
Four years ago, Lisa Becker, 26, joined the Public Relations Professionals of Long Island, where she says she got a lot of value but didn’t see many others at her career level. To encourage more participation, she suggested creating a young professionals committee that could plan events specifically for that age group: opportunities where they could meet and mingle and then get integrated into the main group.
Becker, assistant director of public affairs at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, has helped plan two events, with a third in the works. There’s a real benefit, she says, for those at the entry level to discuss with peers “the trials and tribulations of a first job.”
Other industry-specific groups include: the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network, www.ynpn.org; Ed2010.com for young magazine editors; and the Young to Publishing Group at www.publish ers.org/about/ ypg.cfm.
At the other end of the career scale, professional women with retirement on the horizon can look into The Transition Network, which hones in on worries related to potential loss of camaraderie, structure and identity, as well as that “what to do next” question.
Helping that organization set up “peer groups” on Long Island of 10 to 12 women is Dania Smith, who has scheduled an information meeting for March 21 in Levittown. (To learn more, see www.thetransition network.org or e-mail Smith at Danias100@aol.com.)
Another similarly focused group is the Retired Professional Women’s Network, started a year-and-a-half ago by Harriet Kulka and Marci Tublisky. About 40 women meet monthly at various locations in western Suffolk County. (For information, see www.rpwn.org.)
Online networking
When it comes to identifying, tracking down and connecting with those in specific professions, companies, even countries, nothing beats social networking sites. These are sites where individuals post profiles and share contacts with those they know and those who are one, two or even more degrees of separation away.
In a matter of minutes last week, Barry Miller helped a Pace University student from India locate contacts who could help her find a job back home by using Ryze.com. Miller, manager of alumni career programs and services at Pace, is linked directly to about 400 people in Ryze along with 800 in LinkedIn.com. And just about all those people have been willing to put him and his students in touch with their contacts as students and alums seek career and job search advice. (But be forewarned: It’s taboo to hit people up directly for jobs, he said, whether it’s in person or online.)
Miller says he’s had an 80 percent success rate using this system to connect professionals with students looking for guidance. “I can zoom in like radar,” he says. The networking is “doing everything I’ve done before - except better and more efficiently.”
Another site, Ziggs.com, lets networkers create profiles and search a database of 3.1 million professionals by name, location, company or a key word (such as job title, university or interests).
Piggyback events
With an eye to “killing two birds with one stone,” Jay Rosensweig, founder of Face ToFaceNetworking.com, scheduled a Farmingdale event he called “Defensive Driving for Professionals.” That’s right: You learn how to be a better driver (participants get a 10 percent discount on their auto liability insurance bills), and the bagel breakfast and breaks are intended for schmoozing and business-card exchanges.
Rosensweig, of Bayside, says he’s looking to organize other such two-for-one networking events.
Along those lines, Miller suggests students get involved with high-profile causes they care about, giving them a chance to do good as well as mingle with - and, with luck, impress - people of influence who might give them guidance or introductions down the road. The key, says Miller, is to develop rapport and relationships by “offering your services to them,” as opposed to “pushing for a personal outcome.” One group he suggests students check out is Step Up Women’s Network at www.stepupwom ensnetwork.org, which offers both networking and community-oriented projects.
Speed networking
For business people looking to sell products or services, and also connect with others who are doing the same, speed networking features five-minute get-to-know-you sessions with other attendees.
Based on the structure of speed dating - where singles look for sparks with potential paramours - these events start with general schmoozing, then break down to face-to-face, 3-to-5-minute “here’s what I do, what do you do” pitches. Everyone has a chance to connect, at least briefly, with just about everyone who attends.
Such quick exchanges are “not meant to close a sale,” says Rosensweig, adding that his events usually involve 20 to 26 professionals, most from different industries. The idea is to get to know a little about each person there - something seldom accomplished at traditional events where serendipity reigns - and to follow up with those with whom you click.
Also putting on area speed networking events is Amanda Nissman at NetworkingForPro fessionals.com.
Events listings
So, how to keep up with myriad networking opportunities? You let others do it for you and send you their findings each month through e-mail.
About three years ago, Steve Willett, 36, started attending events - as many as five in one day - to drum up sales for his Cubicle Cards Co., which makes customized networking cards. People would ask him for recommendations for other events, so he started compiling a list to e-mail them.
His file of New York metropolitan-area events, mostly for job hunters and entrepreneurs, now numbers 40 to 50 pages. He calls it the J-List (for Jeffrey, his middle name), and it’s being delivered free to approximately 1,500 people in the area.
Willett, who’s become known as the J-List guy, is now considered a local networking expert - and he’s whittled his schedule down to attending just two to five events a week.
And if you’re looking for events locally and beyond, check out Bernardo’s List at www.bernardoslist.com. It has events schedules for Long Island, New York and 14 other cities and regions.
Basics: Some quick tips
Shortcuts are a great way to help make networking more efficient. But there are some basics that experts say are non-negotiable.
1. Know that networking is not just about getting. It’s about giving and getting, and the giving comes first. That means offering to serve on committees, help with programs, speak with young people looking for career direction. As you display qualities of commitment and follow-through, others will be willing to do you a good turn as your needs arise. Remember: There are no shortcuts for building this kind of rapport.
2. When people do give you advice or contacts, let them know how you followed up and what good might have come of it. If someone gives you a lead that leads to someone else who leads to a job, let the first someone know. That’s because his or her reward is knowing that the time spent with you, or the chit they cashed in for you, was fruitful.
3. Find occasions to check in with people who may be drifting away, former colleagues who go on to new jobs or bosses who may have retired. You don’t have to do this often: An annual check-in or even holiday greeting makes it easier to pick up the phone when you have a real need to connect.