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Networking is one of the most important features of the business world, as you must make an effort to connect with those around you for the benefit of your career. However, many people feel as though they do not have the confidence or skills that are required to network properly, as it can be hard to sell yourself or your brand to someone that you’ve never met before (especially if they are more advanced or experienced than you are). Luckily this needn’t be the case for much longer as this article aims to show the ropes of networking, allowing you to spread the word about what you have to offer to make valuable connections across your industry. So, if you would like to find out more, then read on to uncover some of the best tips and tricks that you can make the most of today!
Set Up A Social Media Account
A brilliant way to begin reaching out and start virtually networking involves setting up your very own social media account. Though the clue may be in the name, ‘social media network’, it’s fair to say that the whole concept of social media is based around networking and connecting with others. As soon as you take the time to type in an email address and some personal information, you’ll be able to search for people or brands, post content, and most importantly make connections in the form of ‘friends’ or ‘followers’. Having a friend or follower essentially means that they have signed up to see everything that you post, almost like a mutual subscriber as you too in return will view their posts. You can also use the platform to send messages and arrange events, so it can be the perfect way to meet a variety of industry professionals that could be of real benefit to your career. You can often even find job advertisements on social media platforms, allowing you to discover a whole new role that you may never have encountered in the past. Just remember that everything you post on social media is there forever, even if you take the time to delete your post or comment – it’s saved on the web for the foreseeable future, and a potential employer could easily stumble across your page and posts.
Visit Industry Events
Each year, there are guaranteed to be a variety of different industry events that you can attend to find the perfect opportunity to start networking. Finding these events needn’t be difficult, as the internet is filled to the brim with information regarding shows at local stadiums, meetings at nearby conference halls and so much more. It can be a really nerve wracking experience to step into an event on your own without ever having done so before, but the benefits that such a decision can have on your career makes your hard work and dedication all the more worth it. Attending an event shows that you are committed to your career, as many people choose not to allow their business life to take a front seat over their professional life – most events are held on weekends, so it’s a great way to prove to potential employers that you are ready and willing to stay focused. You should plan a kind of pitch that you can use to sell yourself to those around you, mentioning all of your best selling points such as qualifications, experience, skills and positive personality traits. Planning a small pitch out beforehand will make it easier for information to simply roll off your tongue in an eloquent manner whenever a question is asked. It’s a great idea to create a business card that you can give out after your networking proves to be a success, as something like luxury gold business cards can be a standout way to finish off your conversation! Your business card should only include a couple of bits of information as you don’t want it to look too overwhelmed and confusing, so just stick with your name or brand as well as a website or email address that you can be contacted on. You may wish to write your phone number, but many people prefer to make their connections through the medium of email or the aforementioned social media.
Learning how to network for the benefit of your career has never been so simple when you can take the time to utilize the amazing steps that have been carefully explained above, so what are you waiting for?
