If you are looking for an opportunity to develop your skills and expand your experience, you will probably read about how important is to build up a network, not only on the web but also a real one!
And so, this week I attended my first real networking event and it was amazing!
Before a real networking event, you must prepare yourself with some of these items:
- Contact cards:
- You can not go to an event like this without a contact card!
- You can make cards with almost any office tool, I used the powerpoint and I set the page orientation to portrait and used 8.5 cm x 5.5 cm.
- Select wisely what do you want to write on the card. My information was simple: Name, small description, about.me, phone contact, email address.
- The card layout must be as simple as possible, and at the same time, it can show a little bit of your personality (depending on the networking field).
- Volunteer for presenting your work:
- You should always ask if it is possible to present your work/skills/interests to the audience, in a 5-7 minute slot. The audience get closer to you if you catch their attention, for instance, in a stage presentation, and they will remind you at the end of the event.
- Small resume of your work:
- If you can't do a brief presentation of your work/skills/interests, then you should be prepared with a a small resume of your abilities, expertise, etc... and please write them down in your contact card (just a few strong words).
- Answers:
- Be always prepared in advance to answer some questions: what are you doing at the moment? If you aren't working, prepare yourself to the "why" question. What are you looking for? Do you want to work in academia or in industry?
- And, please, do not be shy, ask questions too!
During a real networking event, please:
- Do not seat in the back
- Take the front seats so everyone can actually see you!
- Use the coffee breaks to improve your networking skills
- Talk, talk, talk! Present yourself (ideas, thoughts, opinions, etc...) and change contact cards.
- Smile
- Your body language is extremely important! Be confident, and smile! There is nothing better than a smile to attract people.
- Be yourself and talk with others as much as possible
- You just have to pay attention to avoid any inconvenient word/sentence. And that's it!
After a real networking event, you need to:
- Stay connected
- Use your web-tools (LinkedIn, email, etc...) to keep the connection.
- Follow the other's work
- Now that you know the name and the voice too, pay attention to the progress of his/her career. Stay updated!
- Get in touch from time to time
- And if an opportunity comes, send a message, an email, or make a phone call so the other one will know that you are still interested, still looking for an opportunity to collaborate, and so on...
And, perhaps in a near future, the opportunity that you are waiting for may come to you (not from the sky, but from your work and networking!).
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