Networking in the Age of Tech
A lot of people use networking to move their career along. For me, teaching networking to students is my career. It’s a common mantra in higher education to emphasize the importance of networking for our students. Networking opens up the doors for them to learn more about different professional avenues, gather recommendations, and meet amazing alumni who are willing to mentor the next generation.
Online social apps like Linked-In, company or college digital directories, and other industry-based communication platforms have placed thousands of professionals right at our fingertips. We have more access to potential connections at any company than ever before. No longer is the local networking event, although still important, the only place where we can meet people. Still, even with all this change in the way we communicate, I often find that we aren’t very creative in the ways we utilize the technology available to us. Let me use a common example.
Rethinking the Cup of Coffee
We’ve all reached out to someone and asked them to meet up for a cup of coffee. You send out an email expressing why they are someone who intrigues you, you tell them you want to learn more about them, and ask if they will meet up at the local Starbucks. You might send out a list of some conversation goals and a plan for what you want to talk with them about to avoid awkward conversation. Then you both arrive, you pay for their coffee as a kind gesture, enjoy a great conversation, leave, and send a follow-up email. It’s simple networking at its finest. So, what’s the problem?
Nothing is inherently wrong with this approach and it still works in most cases. However, with the diversity of connections tech has brought to our fingertips, this can’t work in all situations. Networking isn’t just connecting with people who are geographically close to you. There might be a connection in California that you could help and build a relationship with. The problem? It’s expensive to book a trip to California. So, we just schedule a plain phone call. It gets the job done but it’s not exciting or innovative. It doesn’t always leave the person with the impression our coffee session would.
I was reminded recently by a colleague of an idea that I gave to a student awhile back. Instead of scheduling a simple phone call with the person, you could think outside of the box, use your resources, and still host your coffee meeting in innovative ways. You could reach out and ask the person to meet up for coffee over Skype. Find the Starbucks close to their office and ask them to take the call there. Figure out their favorite drink and remotely place a timed order on the app for the time they are to arrive. Tell them that you will have their coffee ready for them to pick up and provide them with a link to get on the call. Host the meeting and then follow-up as usual after.
You aren’t there in-person but it’s a much more personal touch than a simple phone call. The person still is able to receive your “thank you” gesture and you get a face-to-face interaction. This is just a simple example, but it will leave the person impressed with your organization, creativity, and true interest in what they do. It leaves a different impression than your typical phone call and it shows the point I’m trying to make.
We have all of these resources at our fingertips, but I find that we are vastly under-utilizing them. Tech has given us more than just the opportunity to connect, but it has given us the tools to be pretty creative in the way in which we reach out to others. We can do more than just making a connection on Linked-In or sending an email. Those things are just the beginning. There are endless possibilities to get yourself out there, learn how you can help others, and make connections to move your career forward!