Networking Tips for Beginners

Networking has now become an indispensable part of our life as it allows socialization, exchange of information and ideas, and other activities either for work or personal reasons. Regardless of your current work status, freelancer, part-time or full-time employee, or still a student, increasing and diversifying your network can smooth the way for your success. Here are a few tips you can consider to improve your networking skills.

Strengthen your presence online

Considering the minimal opportunity of people meeting face to face today, effective networking becomes the new normal in introducing yourself to the world. To be visible online, you have to expand your presence before reaching out to anyone. Create your own personal or business website and link it to other people or companies. Make sure your social media profiles are up-to-date and connected with companies or other businesses. If you are looking for work, let recruiters know by marking yourself “Visible” and enable the “Open to Work” feature.

Meet new people strategically

You can meet people casually while networking but you must have a plan to meet new people with whom you want to work or associate with. Be proactive. Identify who you want to meet with. You can do this by checking their online profiles allowing you to decide if a person is worth approaching. Engage with your target networks by sharing their content and writing comments on their posts to catch their attention and get noticed.

Employ the right networking style

There are four networking styles that people employ while networking. These are behavioral techniques that you can learn from in order to help you establish a stronger professional relationship with others. By understanding your own style and that with the person you want to engage with, you will have an easier time establishing an empathic relationship that makes communication effective.

First, a Promoter style is evident in those who value making connections as shown by their friendly, outgoing, and approachable style. They are good at getting people interested in their vision and are active supporters for those who seek to promote a person, business, or cause. The Go-getters are the focused, dominant, and values results driven people. They think, speak, and act fast like successful people and experts who want to expand their businesses and achieve more goals in life.

Examiners are those who value accuracy and detail. These people are intelligent, analytical, efficient,  task-driven, as well as methodical decision-makers. Lastly, the Nurturer style is displayed by people who value sincerity and are kind, helpful, and supportive. They are great listeners and team players who seek supportive and reliable people.

Make your messages more personal

It is hard to trust just anybody you meet online mainly due to a lack of face-to-face communication. In order to come off as a genuine person with a credible reason to meet people online, it is best to add a personal touch to your introduction like mentioning common grounds like the same school, degree, or work experience. Avoid sending general or nonspecific messages when introducing yourself and be simple and direct to the point.

Keep in touch

After the first meeting, it is a must to do a follow-up. Share content that is helpful or interesting or keep commenting on their posts. It pays to simply check on them.

Influence people by showing your passion

Show your passion or excitement over your content whether it may be about your job, business, or other projects. That way people will also be interested or encouraged to share their interest with you.

Be an active and focused listener

Networking is foremost about relationship-building. The best way to get to know a person is to be a good listener. Pay attention to what the other person is saying and be genuinely interested in them by asking further questions about their hobbies, interests, and advocacies.

Avoid giving the hard-sell

Avoid being too aggressive especially during your first meeting as this is a big no-no in building a good relationship with others. Focus on making sincere and authentic connections first as this will make people trust and ally with you.

Be yourself

Trustworthiness is the key to effective networking. People will respond better to a genuine person than those who pretend to be someone else. Anybody can spot a phony miles away.

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Apply for financial help

These days, networking has given people the opportunity to not only socialize, but also to make a living despite COVID-19 restrictions. If you need capital to fund your online business and expand your online presence, turn to companies that can provide you with quick and easy loans. You can easily borrow money for both personal and business purposes.