It is an accepted reality that professional growth and developing in one’s career relies upon building a network of connections. Often the support, collaboration and the perspectives of those in your professional network can help you to achieve your goals and successful outcomes. This is particularly true for academia where collaborations are a necessary part of the job.
So what strategies are useful to employ when thinking about growing your network? Thinking about those face to face networking situations such as a conference or departmental workshop, it can be helpful to plan out some clear objectives before the event. Arrive early at the event so that you can initiate conversations rather than trying to slot into them as a late arrival.
When initiating conversations with those that you have never met or don’t know well it can be helpful to look for shared experiences and interests to create a sense of connection. It can also be useful to join group conversations (especially if you are unsure about initiating conversations right off the bat). Group conversations are also a way to meet more people in a shorter space of time and perhaps expand your reach further than having several 1:1 conversations. It can be worth trying these different approaches to find the style that suits you best. Another useful strategy is to always follow up after the event with your new connections. A quick email that highlights how much you enjoyed the discussion, perhaps with a suggestion of catching up again, is great to solidify that new connection. A tip that many do not take advantage of is leveraging the event host (assuming there is one or the person that invited you to the event), which involves asking them to introduce you to different attendees of interest.
There is no denying that researchers need to build cross-disciplinary networks to help advance their research interests (and careers in the longer term) so some last minute and broad tips include:
- Make sure that your ResearchGate and LinkedIn profiles are up to date
- Attend conferences and events whenever possible
- Find your preferred method / style of networking
- If the stakes feel high then practice your technique at some lower level opportunities
- Don’t forget about your online network too!
If you’d like to receive further support regarding networking or want to talk about your strategy in more detail then don’t hesitate to book a 1:1 Career Development Consultation with either myself or Darcey https://institute-academic-development.ed.ac.uk/research-roles/research-only-staff/career-management/career-consultation
