Being in the tech industry, one of the most advantageous soft skills you can have is the ability to network. This opens a lot of doors, whether that be referrals, mentors, investors, building reputation, company news, etc. It can help you land a job anywhere from a Tier 1 company (i.e. Google) to a day 1 Startup. Entry level to executive / CTO type jobs that aren’t even listed on their career portal. Benefits are obvious. But what’s not obvious is, how to do it, and to do it successfully. There are people in all stages of their career, 0YOE to 45YOE that either have tips or can benefit from tips. If you have a network / connections that benefit you from things listed above, or something else, then let’s get some tips listed to help each other out. Discuss some helpful tips such as; how did you get the connection(s). Do you have to stay in contact often to keep the network alive? Anything from ‘how to gain more friends by being charming’, how to target and introduce yourself to strangers, all the way to what type of events you’ve gone to that have paid off by expanding your network.
I'm gonna give some real talk. A lot of people view networking entirely wrong. It's not surprising. We're selfish creatures. We want to better our careers. We want others to get us where we want to be. But if you try to network with that mindset, be prepared to be at best ignore and at worst mocked. You don't 'network', you build one. Ask yourself "What value do I bring to the table?" The Golden Rule Actively Listen: Let the other person talk and listen. I don't just mean listen. I mean really understand what they're saying. Most people spend all day being talked at. So they appreciate having someone listening to them. Try not to be self absorbed and talk about your problems. Nothing is more insulting than opening up about your struggles only for the other person to divert the conversation back to them. Networking is like dating. A lot of terrible advice out there. But the best advice is to know what value you bring to a relationship and putting yourself in situations where people can naturally see that shine. You'll quickly find that generosity returned
Could not agree more.
What do you mean, "you (people)"?
I've personally found gradually developing genuine long-term connections with contacts of interest through honest conversations and passionate collaborations to be the most rewarding with plenty of pleasant offers of help later down the line, even when advice and opportunities are least expected.