#JustStart My Goals

I was always hesitant to attend regular networking events such as breakfast meetings or after-work dinners. They were frequently painful and appeared ingenuine to me, with several individuals approaching me with their cards and a pitch on why I should buy from them or tell my clients about them. I’d leave these gatherings exhausted and frustrated.

Surprisingly, I’m not the only one. According to research, networking may make people uneasy, and one in every four people does not network at all. And, because professional connections developed purely to advance one’s career tend to feel one-sided and selfish, we find methods to avoid networking entirely.

You must be able to network, no matter how uncomfortable it is. It allows you to network with key individuals in your field and helps you advance professionally. Furthermore, persons who make an effort to expand their networks are 42 percent–74 percent more likely to get promoted than those who do not.

After figuring out how to turn an uncomfortable experience into a personal one, I finally felt more at ease networking.

Here are some strategies I’ve used to improve my networking with professionals and practitioners:

Start By Offering Something Valuable.

Networking may often feel like a one-way street where you get something without giving anything back. However, if you take the time to analyze your counterpart’s interests, needs, or desires — and how you might be able to address them — you won’t leave feeling empty. You could make a lifelong acquaintance.

Instead of seeing networking negatively, consider concentrating on how you can provide value to the other person’s life.

I approach individuals with a single purpose: to carefully listen to them and provide my skills when I believe I can assist them. Rather than discussing my company, I look for ways to relate to their concerns and share my perspective.

I’m not only networking; I’m also offering something of value, starting a genuine relationship.

Networking begins to seem fair and natural when you find unique ways to provide value to individuals. And the other person is more likely to put in the same effort to provide you with the same value in return.

Focus On Establishing Human Connections.

Networking isn’t something you do only when you need to. You wouldn’t contact a friend when you needed a favor, and you can’t network solely to advance your profession or business.

Instead, it would be best if you worked on building meaningful, long-term relationships with people.

Authenticity is required. You may start forming these genuine relationships by doing the following:

· Somewhat of forcing relationships to evolve too rapidly, practice patience and allow them to grow over time. Approach networking in the same way you would a new acquaintance, gradually getting to know each other over weeks, months, and years. When you do want advice, the relationship will have been created, making it easy to seek assistance from that person.

· Maintain significant ties by sending personal messages and checking in regularly. It goes a long way to cultivate kindness and steadiness in your interactions.

· Make introductions amongst colleagues. By assisting others in meeting individuals, you will build your relationships with both contacts while fostering trust and reciprocity.

My Experience — Attended Annual Dinner Organized By YGA

Youth General Assembly is an autonomous assembly formed to provide an inclusive and all-encompassing platform that instigates a true sense of policy & strategy making, equitable administration, and non-customary legislative public speaking on social subjects by endowing enthusiasm in youth for being the future ambassadors and democrats.

I’ve been volunteering for this organization for three months in a row, and in the last week, we were given a form to attend an annual dinner conducted by the Youth General Assembly (YGA) with a time constraint of 2 hours. I instantly filled out the form to be part of the dinner where honorable guests were coming to exchange insights and were selected on a first-come, first-serve basis.

I try to get a list of attendees before the event. I may target 4 or 5 people that are from the HR field. I reached before time so that I do not miss a chance to welcome honorable guests coming in. I wanted to leave my impression so that they could remember me in the long run. I ask the organizer to introduce me to three of those on my target list. I say three because not everyone shows up. I had a casual conversation with different great personalities, exchanged cards, and discussed their businesses. We also talked about how we can improve the YGA platform for the next generation.

What did I learn from this experience?

Now you need to engage! Ask the person you want to engage about them. It should never be about you when it comes to networking. It’s all about them. Discover their hobbies, even if they are unrelated to the issue. Find a point of agreement. It might be anything relating to their family, sports, hobbies, cars, restaurants, vacations, or a talent they have. Allow them to find common ground and then add to it discreetly. If the other person brings up the issue, you may have established common ground and formed a connection. Don’t just spit your résumé out. Your time is running out. The most important thing is to pay attention to the other person. Pay attention to what is important to them.

Next Steps:

1. Give a genuine gift to the whole room.

The most excellent tool for doing this is to give short speeches at networking groups. I will reach out to every networking event I can find and offer to deliver an interactive workshop, sharing some of the best insights. I know that everyone attending would leave feeling they had learned something and would also be more likely to want to talk to me afterward.

2. Find a Networking Buddy

Sometimes starting conversations with strangers is easier if you have a familiar face by your side. I will look for a friend or coworker who’s also looking to expand their network and consider attending professional events as a twosome.

Key Take a Way

The good news is that you don’t have to love networking to be good at it. You need to approach it differently by offering something of value and continually finding ways to make connecting with others a part of your routine.