Were You Connected This Christmas?

The Christmas and New Year party season has recently passed; did you seize the opportunity to network? 

Effective networking could take your career to new heights. It might sound daunting but it’s an excellent way of making sure that people know who you are and what you do within your organisation, as well as helping you to develop relationships with colleagues that could positively affect your future career prospects. That’s because people tend to do business with people they trust, respect and like. The old saying, “It’s not what you know but who you know” still applies today.

Be on the radar!

It’s still important to be on your guard even within a relaxed social gathering, so don’t let it down too much by saying or doing the wrong thing. Instead talk to your boss about what he or she likes to do outside of work and about the plans for the company over the next year. However, avoid controversial jokes or topics that be taken the wrong way.

Think about your personal ‘brand’

What kind of image do you wish to present of yourself to those you are socialising with?

By developing good relationships with those you work with and for, you will be on the right path to showing why people should value you in your role and as an individual.

It’s not just about you

Remember that the key aspect of networking is that it is not just about you, but also about what you can do for others. Even if you can’t help them immediately, try to find out what makes them tick. You are not going to be popular or interesting if you just talk about yourself continuously. You should also avoid going on about boring or very specific things. Talking about a variety of topics will make your interaction with your colleagues more interesting.

Ask good questions

Make sure you have some good questions prepared to keep the conversation flowing. Finding a common ground will always make building a relationship easier. Showing an interest in the business and what they do as part of that business will always be a good starting point but don’t keep the conversation ‘strictly business’ as after all your contact will be there to relax and enjoy the event. If you overtly sell, you may switch people off and make them disinterested in your conversation – show finesse and smart network!

Use the introduction to secure a future meeting

Don’t let your networking end at the party, the endgame is to ensure ongoing communication with your new contact. As you will be at a social event you will need to be clever when suggesting continued conversation/ a further business meeting. Asking if they have a LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook account and then adding them to your network can be a good way of continuing communication in an informal manner whilst developing your new business relationship.