Utilise your network to get ahead

Everyone builds personal networks whether they realise it or not. People’s networks can be made up of friends, bosses, colleagues, fellow sports team members and even […]

Everyone builds personal networks whether they realise it or not. People’s networks can be made up of friends, bosses, colleagues, fellow sports team members and even teachers and mentors.

But not everyone realises the value of building and utilising their networks for their education and career development. Effective networking is an art, an efficient and intricate tool that helps cultivate success.

Whether you are looking for a job, completing a college application or looking for help with an essay you can guarantee there is someone in your network who can help. The key to effective networking is realising this and then taking advantage of it.

Building your network

Network building can take place in a formal setting such as through business networking groups and at formal events.

Ecadamy (www.ecademy.com) is an example of an international business networking group. It enables business people to connect through online networking, at business networking events and through 1-2-1 meetings.

Your local Chamber of Commerce – www.ccir.ro – also offers a good networking opportunity as it brings together local businesses of all shapes and sizes. Although the networking set-ups vary with location it is worth getting in touch to find out how you can get involved.

Also consider sector and location specific networking clubs, such as Round Table if your speciality is law as well as more obvious student groups such as college alumni associations.

The downside of networking clubs is that they can cost a lot of money and time, two things students generally don’t have a lot of. You often have to pay membership fees to join and most of the events take place in the evening or in the morning before 9am. But even if networking clubs aren’t for you, you should still try and build your network through your everyday encounters.

Whatever approach you decide to take, these tips should hold you in good stead:

1) Don’t be afraid to approach people.
How often do you meet people you have something in common with? You might be on a bus next to someone reading a book you have read or overhear people talking about a subject you know a lot about. This is the perfect chance to start a conversation. This can be daunting, but the feeling of starting a conversation with a stranger is exhilarating. What is the worst that can happen? Just dive in, give it a shot and before long you won’t be able to stop meeting new people.

2) Get people talking with open questions.
Generally people enjoy talking more than they enjoy listening. Be savvy with this when you meet people. Show an interest in them by asking open questions starting with what, where, why, who and how? You will notice that they warm to you far quicker than if you were just talking about yourself.

3) Make building relationships a habit.
Once you have met someone, be the person to develop that encounter into a relationship. If it is a formal contact send them an email to say you enjoyed your meeting. If it is personal then add them to Facebook. This will make you stick in their memory and if there comes a point where you think they could help you, it will make contacting them far easier.

Utilising your network

The next step is recognising when someone in your network can help you. With every task you take on, whether it be trying to find a job or writing a graduate application essay, ask yourself ‘who do I know who can help?’

But also make sure you are there to help others in your network as this will go a long way to building successful relationships.

Think about how you can use the following tips to make yourself better at utilising your network:

1) Be bold in asking for help.
Human nature dictates that people feel good when they help others. Do the people in your network a favour and ask for their help even if you don’t know them very well. If they can’t help, the likelihood is that by asking you have strengthened your relationship with them.

2) Connect people.
If you meet a person you think that someone in your network can help then say you will put them in touch and actually do it. It is easy to make false promises to people you don’t know very well, but effective networkers are the people who stay true to their word. Good deeds like this will often come back to benefit you.

3) Market yourself to your network.
This is especially important if you are looking for a job. Don’t be afraid to send your resumé around to people who on the off chance might be able to help. Referrals are often the biggest factor in somebody finding a job and you have no idea who people in your network might know until you ask.

Also use social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to raise your visibility. If you have a blog, website or a piece of work online then don’t be embarrassed to use your status updates to link to it. Sign up to professional networking sites too, such as LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com), XING (www.xing.com) and YahooKickstart (kickstart.yahoo.com). These are great for creating a profile of yourself as a professional as well as connecting with people who have similar professional interests.

Effective networking takes a lot of effort and is a slow process that one must learn. As is the case with any other skill you need to work at networking in order to gain the benefits. So the next time you see your friend or colleague getting the job offer of their dreams through someone they know, remember it is because they worked hard to make that contact. More importantly, your lucky day could be just around the corner if you start utilising your network too.

Notes for the editor

The QS World Grad School Tour, the most prestigious Masters and PhD Fair, will visit Bucharest on Saturday 20 march 2010. To get your free invitation visit www.topgradschool.com

About QS

QS provides full-spectrum guidance for higher education and career opportunities, supporting motivated individuals around the world to progress towards their future goals. Through our exclusive events, publications, research and interactive web tools, we link undergraduate, graduate, MBA and executive communities around the world with recruiters and education providers. Our communities include: topuniversities.com, topmba.com, topgradschool.com and global-workplace.com. The highly diverse QS team consists of over 140 individuals from five continents. Our team includes internationally recognized experts in the higher and business education arena. QS operates globally from offices in London, Paris, Stuttgart, Singapore, Shanghai, Sydney, Boston, Washington DC, and Johannesburg.

About the QS World Grad School Tour

The QS World Grad School Tour offers a unique opportunity for potential graduate candidates to meet admissions officers of the world’s top universities face-to-face at venues around the world. Now in its tenth year, the Tour will be visiting 61 cities in 37 different countries in 2010.