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Have a solid foundation:
We all know the importance of first Impressions when meeting with someone for the first time. It is important to ensure that your attitude, your attire and your overall appearance are perfect for the occasion. If you are at a networking event, then it is important to pay close attention to the people who have attended the event from different industries. Make sure to join a group of people who are by themselves or a group of two or three people who are having a discussion. Introduce yourself polite at an opportunity and maintain eye contact while shaking their hands. It is important to practice this before the actual event with a friend of yours so that you can master the art of introduction. If introducing yourself online, remember to follow in-person social etiquette rules. If someone referred you to the person, for example, put the mutual contact's name in the subject line of the e-mail, so there's an immediate level of recognition. Email is a cold medium. If you can warm it up with something personal, do so.
2. Don’t Confuse people with your pitch:
Don’t start a conversation by telling everyone your entire work history. No one needs to hear that. The entire introduction of yourself and what it is that you do shouldn’t take more than 30 to 60 seconds. If you go into too much detail about yourself and your skills as a chemical engineer, a management consultant might just switch because he will find it too much to take in a few minutes. When you are networking with people who don’t work in your field, always try to keep the introductions short and straight to the point. You can start with what you want to do, your goals and objectives and you can share what might be relevant in your career at the point in time. But that should be it.
3. Don’t Tell a Sob Story:
No matter how tough your life has been and how difficult your situations have been, you need to paint a positive picture of yourself and your career to your listeners when connecting. This is so that you don’t demotivate them and cause them to switch off. Potential employers and connections are not going to bring on board a person who they perceive as being down in the dumps, rather, they want a person who they think is excited about the positions, a person who has a win-win, can do all attitude, a person who is energetic and so forth. That is the type of person that connections want to connect with and that is the type of person you should project yourself to be. Don’t tell stories of difficult financial times or hardships, rather, tell stories of financial success and challenges in which you learnt more about yourself and your career.
4. Spend more time listening than talking:
In this case the old adage is true, “People were given two ears and one mouth, and you should use them proportionately”. Just like in the dating world you should spend more time listening to the person in front of you than talking about yourself. This allows you to give the impression that you are truly interested in what they have to say. When you have listened and understood the person, you can then respond in a manner that is suitable to the occasion.
5. Avoid Being Socially Inept:
There is a fine line between being sociable, personable and awkward. You don’t want to be the latter. Steer clear of talking about things that would make people uncomfortable. For example don’t say that you were out of work for six months because you were laid off and don’t tell your connection that you recently had a brain surgery and have been unable to work ever since. You should maintain some normal social constructs, such as where you direct your eyes and how closely you stand to people. Looking from someone's eyes to the middle of their forehead is professional, versus a more social gaze of eyes-to-mouth. You should also try to keep an arm's length away from anyone you're talking to.
6. Don’t Overstay your welcome:
Taking up too much of some ones time is almost as bad as ignoring them entirely. It's imperative that you understand when your time is up. You win in the social world if you 'release people first,' so if you see a slow crossing of the arms, an increase in the amount of time they're looking over your shoulder, or a sudden obsession with the word 'anyway,' they are giving you not-so-subtle hints that they'd like to move on. Have a few "graceful exits" ready, Examples: "It was a pleasure meeting you! There are a couple of other people here who I said I'd get it touch with while I'm here," or "Is there anyone here I can introduce you to?" If you're still lost, there's always the standby "I'm going to run to grab another drink.
7. Hand out your Business Card and Follow Up:
It is not ok to give someone your resume and asking them to connect you with a job or with someone else. You must have a working relationship with a person before you can ask them to do anything for you. Many people overlook this professional courtesy and ask brand new contacts who they have just met to connect them with other people. Instead, go for the business card exchange. Make sure that when you offer yours, you specifically and politely request theirs. Don't assume they'll solicit it on their own. Once you're a bit of a distance from them, take a minute to jot down a few notes about the person you just met on a sheet of paper – anything personal they may have mentioned, a news item you discussed, or a business idea you talked about. You can use that to politely jog their memory in a follow-up note. Perhaps the "Cardinal Rule" of networking is that once you've planted the seeds of a new relationship, you must follow up to maintain it. Whether it's a business referral, job lead, or a professional connection, get in touch – within 24 hours – to say you enjoyed meeting them
We all know the importance of first Impressions when meeting with someone for the first time. It is important to ensure that your attitude, your attire and your overall appearance are perfect for the occasion. If you are at a networking event, then it is important to pay close attention to the people who have attended the event from different industries. Make sure to join a group of people who are by themselves or a group of two or three people who are having a discussion. Introduce yourself polite at an opportunity and maintain eye contact while shaking their hands. It is important to practice this before the actual event with a friend of yours so that you can master the art of introduction. If introducing yourself online, remember to follow in-person social etiquette rules. If someone referred you to the person, for example, put the mutual contact's name in the subject line of the e-mail, so there's an immediate level of recognition. Email is a cold medium. If you can warm it up with something personal, do so.
2. Don’t Confuse people with your pitch:
Don’t start a conversation by telling everyone your entire work history. No one needs to hear that. The entire introduction of yourself and what it is that you do shouldn’t take more than 30 to 60 seconds. If you go into too much detail about yourself and your skills as a chemical engineer, a management consultant might just switch because he will find it too much to take in a few minutes. When you are networking with people who don’t work in your field, always try to keep the introductions short and straight to the point. You can start with what you want to do, your goals and objectives and you can share what might be relevant in your career at the point in time. But that should be it.
3. Don’t Tell a Sob Story:
No matter how tough your life has been and how difficult your situations have been, you need to paint a positive picture of yourself and your career to your listeners when connecting. This is so that you don’t demotivate them and cause them to switch off. Potential employers and connections are not going to bring on board a person who they perceive as being down in the dumps, rather, they want a person who they think is excited about the positions, a person who has a win-win, can do all attitude, a person who is energetic and so forth. That is the type of person that connections want to connect with and that is the type of person you should project yourself to be. Don’t tell stories of difficult financial times or hardships, rather, tell stories of financial success and challenges in which you learnt more about yourself and your career.
4. Spend more time listening than talking:
In this case the old adage is true, “People were given two ears and one mouth, and you should use them proportionately”. Just like in the dating world you should spend more time listening to the person in front of you than talking about yourself. This allows you to give the impression that you are truly interested in what they have to say. When you have listened and understood the person, you can then respond in a manner that is suitable to the occasion.
5. Avoid Being Socially Inept:
There is a fine line between being sociable, personable and awkward. You don’t want to be the latter. Steer clear of talking about things that would make people uncomfortable. For example don’t say that you were out of work for six months because you were laid off and don’t tell your connection that you recently had a brain surgery and have been unable to work ever since. You should maintain some normal social constructs, such as where you direct your eyes and how closely you stand to people. Looking from someone's eyes to the middle of their forehead is professional, versus a more social gaze of eyes-to-mouth. You should also try to keep an arm's length away from anyone you're talking to.
6. Don’t Overstay your welcome:
Taking up too much of some ones time is almost as bad as ignoring them entirely. It's imperative that you understand when your time is up. You win in the social world if you 'release people first,' so if you see a slow crossing of the arms, an increase in the amount of time they're looking over your shoulder, or a sudden obsession with the word 'anyway,' they are giving you not-so-subtle hints that they'd like to move on. Have a few "graceful exits" ready, Examples: "It was a pleasure meeting you! There are a couple of other people here who I said I'd get it touch with while I'm here," or "Is there anyone here I can introduce you to?" If you're still lost, there's always the standby "I'm going to run to grab another drink.
7. Hand out your Business Card and Follow Up:
It is not ok to give someone your resume and asking them to connect you with a job or with someone else. You must have a working relationship with a person before you can ask them to do anything for you. Many people overlook this professional courtesy and ask brand new contacts who they have just met to connect them with other people. Instead, go for the business card exchange. Make sure that when you offer yours, you specifically and politely request theirs. Don't assume they'll solicit it on their own. Once you're a bit of a distance from them, take a minute to jot down a few notes about the person you just met on a sheet of paper – anything personal they may have mentioned, a news item you discussed, or a business idea you talked about. You can use that to politely jog their memory in a follow-up note. Perhaps the "Cardinal Rule" of networking is that once you've planted the seeds of a new relationship, you must follow up to maintain it. Whether it's a business referral, job lead, or a professional connection, get in touch – within 24 hours – to say you enjoyed meeting them
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