Networking is the ability to create and mantain relationships with your peers in the same industry or industries related to your profession. Networking can help you build opportunities from scratch and expand your connections for either short term or long term.
Networking can be done in various ways including attending events organised by professionals, joining associations that bring together various professionals in your field of expertise. This gives you an opportunity to meet and interact and that’s how networks are built. Networking can also be done online through social media platforms like LinkedIn, which by far is considered as a “professional” platform
It doesn’t have to involve people outside your work place, networking can also be done with your colleagues where you get to know their strengths, what they do apart from the job, share ideas and collaborate in various company projects.
Networking can help you land a new job. These types of connections help you be notified when an opportunity arises in the company of your dreams or in a company that offers better pay. So you get to apply and networking can help your name be mentioned in the panel hence an easier path in landing you that job.
Networking helps you develop professional confidence. As a professional, you’ll be confident walking through doors knowing you know people behind them. This helps psych you up.
Networking gives birth to new ideas. Collaborating with professionals from your industry and other related fields can give way to new ideas that will help you scale up professionally or even come up with a problem solving idea that may even fetch you cash.
Networking helps you meet new people and enter doors you never imagined will. It helps you build a human connection that helps you know more people, travel more and even get opportunities not anyone can get.
Opening up your way of seeing things is another benefit of networking as it gives you different view from the normal and gives you different perspectives of different situations. This helps build your aocial wellbeing as a human and the way you think.
As a professional, invest in your connections. Build your human network that you can rely on. Its a give and take world so you got to be a good network to get good networks.