{"id":45644,"date":"2014-08-19T12:45:07","date_gmt":"2014-08-19T17:45:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=45644"},"modified":"2014-08-19T12:54:19","modified_gmt":"2014-08-19T17:54:19","slug":"how-does-this-networking-thing-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=45644","title":{"rendered":"How Does This Networking Thing Work?"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Kiersten Bryant, former Head Editor, INALJ California<\/a>
\npreviously published 10\/30\/13<\/em><\/p>\n

How Does This Networking Thing Work?<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"kiersten<\/a>I will be attending a library conference soon and have been looking for advice on how to network at these events. I currently work in the apparel industry in a position that is in no way related to the library\/information field so when attending library conferences I always feel like a poser. This feeling of not belonging makes my already introverted self, withdraw even more. I go to these conferences to learn about what is trending in the industry, but I also go to meet people working in the information industry and expand my limited network further into this field. What ends up happening is that I learn a lot from all of the presentations I attend, but I barely talk to anybody! Not exactly successful in accomplishing my goals. So this time I\u2019m going to try a little harder. To prepare I\u2019ve been reading some articles that offer advice on how to network during a conference and how to maintain the new connections you have made after the conference is over.<\/p>\n

In an article titled \u201cI Think I\u2019m Networking, Now What?<\/a>\u201d on the Quickbase\/Intuit blog, Allison Green of Ask a Manager offers the following helpful advice about how to approach the idea of networking: \u201cNetworking goes best when you decide that you\u2019re really in just to get to know new people who might have similar or complementary interests to your own. When you decide to be genuinely interested in someone as a person \u2013 not for what they can do for you, but simply in who they are, and perhaps in how you might be able to be helpful to them \u2013 the nature of the experience changes.\u201d Instead of striking up a conversation with the intention of getting something from the person I\u2019m talking to I can take an approach that I\u2019m much more comfortable with, which is just making conversation as if I were at a party talking casually to the person standing next to me. I often worry that the people I talk to at conferences think that I have an ulterior motive for speaking to them, making for awkward conversations. If I let a conversation develop and evolve naturally it will go much smoother. In the same blog post author Eva Rykrsmith advises that \u201cYou don\u2019t want to be doing most of the talking, so get the flow of conversation going at the beginning by asking them open-ended questions and then respond back with your thoughts, opinions, and experiences.\u201d As an introvert I prefer to let someone else to do most of the talking while I listen, so this piece of advice should be easy for me to follow.<\/p>\n

A humorous piece of self-reflection written by Tess McCarthy<\/a> on the SLIS Connect blog titled \u201cNetworking 101 or Mistakes I Made Networking The Other Night<\/a>\u201d provides some tips about networking based on what the author feels like she did wrong at an industry mixer. \u00a0McCarthy echoes the advice of Green and Rykrsmith suggesting that one should \u201cFind common ground\u201d to make conversations with strangers at these events less forced; and to practice your listening skills, in her words \u201cRoll with them punches until the bell rings.\u201d After reading McCarthy\u2019s blog post I turned to WikiHow to see what words of wisdom they could offer me about networking like a pro. The article, aptly titled, \u201cHow to Network at a Conference<\/a>\u201d has some great advice about how to use a conference to expand your network by making connections with the people that will be presenting at the conference. The author recommends doing research on the presenters and institutions that you\u2019re interested in before you got to the conference, then emailing them to make that first introduction. Once you\u2019ve emailed them, and hopefully they have responded, you have an easy conversation starter for when you see them at the conference. The article goes on to give more helpful advice, including everyone\u2019s favorite – be a good listener<\/i>, in addition to \u201clearn how to excuse yourself gracefully\u201d when you realize that the presenter is not the right contact for you, or if you sense that the person is not really interested in speaking with you.<\/p>\n

The work of networking doesn\u2019t end after the conference is over. In order to make the new connections you made matter you have to maintain them. The article \u201c8 Steps To Build Relationships After A Networking Event<\/a>\u201d offers some ideas on what to do to turn the connections you made at a conference into relationships that will continue beyond the conference. One of the steps is to sort through the business cards you received and make notes on the cards to remind yourself of the conversations you had with each person. Another step is to follow-up with the people you meet using social media tools like LinkedIn, and to comment on their blogs if possible.<\/p>\n

Although I\u2019m an introvert, I am a fairly social person, and I do like talking to people, but at library conferences I feel like I\u2019m going to be found out as an imposter because I don\u2019t currently work in the industry. After reading these articles I realize that when the pressure of getting something beneficial for you is removed, or the need to sell yourself is temporarily ignored, it\u2019s much easier to view networking as a way to get to know someone else and make personal connections that can be professionally beneficial later on. The conversations do not have to only be about work, because we all have other things in common. I hope to leave the next conference I attend feeling like I made some lasting connections, but if not, at least I will have learned a lot!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Kiersten Bryant, former Head Editor, INALJ California previously published 10\/30\/13 How Does This Networking Thing Work? I will be attending a library conference soon and have been looking for advice on how to network at these events. I currently work in the apparel industry in a position that is in no way related to…<\/p>\n

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