Networking Tips For Career Success (part 1 of 2)

I was in two minds about writing this article. I thought that networking is not a relevant topic because everyone in Malawi already knows everyone.

However, after a couple of weeks I realized that I am only thinking in this way because I have had the luxury of hiding behind my parents who can give me access to almost everyone in Malawi – I’m very lucky in that sense but this scenario is not true for most people.

Importantly, I got my first proper job in the UK securing a role at an investment bank that every single one of my friends at Cambridge University wanted to work in, Goldman Sachs. I didn’t have a single connection in that world but it didn’t worry me, I knew I was resourceful and would get where I needed to go somehow. Ultimately, I had to network aggressively in order to get the job and in this article I tell you five of the top things I did as far as networking is concerned.

I know there are girls out there who have come out of university and think they can get a job better suited to their education and how hard they work but they’re not quite sure how. This article is for you.

Above all else, building a cache of contacts helps your career in direct and indirect ways. These are my first five pointers on networking:

1. Attend networking and corporate events (if you can’t just sign up ask to be invited) and aim to leave with about two business cards. Don’t stretch yourself thin by trying to meet with everyone; it’s much more useful to have a proper conversation with two people than ten superficial conversations. The two people you connect with are more likely to remember you later on.
2. When talking to people look engaged, maintain eye contact, don’t keep on looking away and don’t check your phone – not even once.
3. Ask intelligent questions at events to get noticed. I know this is particularly challenging for girls – it always seems to be men asking the questions! If you manage to find out the names of any speakers in advance, do some research on them so that you can ask very specific questions, based on the speaker’s own experience of the industry. People tend to prefer questions that can be linked back to their own (awesome) life over technical questions that cannot be correlated with their day-to-day job or previous experiences.
4. If you don’t have business cards, get some made, even if you are still in university; I did this and found them handy in creating an impression. Let’s face it, it’s very unlikely that the person you give your card to will actually call you. However, you will look like a real keeno if you have cards when most of your peers do not. If you’re likely they’ll give the card to their human resources manager and ask them to consider you.
5. Join any professional organizations or societies related to your field. You can find out about those on the internet or in magazines and newspapers

Next week, I will share five more networking tips.

“You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.” Dale Carnegie

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