Five Steps to Networking Success

As a recent graduate or young professional working in the City for the first time, it is easy to slip into a comfortable routine with your day-to-day work environment and friends. However, from time to time it is important to throw yourself in at the deep end in order to make new contacts and thrive in unfamiliar networks.

These are my top 5 rules to help you get the most out of networking events:

[if !supportLists]1. [endif]1. Go Solo

Don’t purposefully take your friends. It is all too easy to go with your work friends and spend the night listening to the key speakers and then immediately grabbing free drinks together without interacting with anyone new.

As daunting as the concept seems, by going alone you are much more likely to engage and communicate with your peers in a meaningful way - because you are forcing yourself into the unknown. You will have to choose between standing awkwardly in the corner or joining a group/individual in conversation and learning something new. The first event I attended solo happened to be an NGIN event, which led me to eventually joining the Board.

[if !supportLists]<span style='mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri;mso-ansi-language: EN-GB'>2. [endif]2. Sit at the Front

If only to save the unlucky individuals who arrive late from having to make the painstaking dash to the last seats available… at the front.

By sitting at the front or in the middle of the seating area you are likely to feel more involved in the debate/Q&A taking place (partly because you can actually hear everything) and if this particular talk is on something you are passionate about, you will regret sitting at the back and feeling out of it.

[if !supportLists]<span style='mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri;mso-ansi-language: EN-GB'>3. [endif]3. Ask Questions

In the past I have resisted asking questions purely due to the fear that they could 1) appear stupid and irrelevant and 2) because I would be drawing attention to myself. Realistically, the worst case scenario is that you raise a question the speaker (and audience) hadn’t thought of which will not only open people’s minds to a different way of thinking, but also be a talking point later in the evening when the networking/drinks element of the event kicks off.

If the speaker was someone you were particularly looking to form a connection with, that person will be more inclined to strike a conversation with an attendee who has already created a link with them.

[if !supportLists]<span style='mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri;mso-ansi-language: EN-GB'>4. [endif]4. Arrive Early

This not only saves you from the aforementioned embarrassment enjoyed by latecomers, but it also opens up opportunities.

If you are attending an event in the hope of meeting a well-researched key speaker, my advice would be to introduce yourself before the event kicks off. The thirty minutes or so prior to the event starting will give you a golden opportunity to introduce yourself and have a light-hearted conversation with that person before the crowd arrives.

Afterwards, the speakers at the event will be inundated with attendees, making it almost impossible for them to be able to entertain all questions by the end of the evening. By striking early on, you will have a key window of time to swap business cards and organise to meet up/continue the conversation at another time under far less hectic circumstances.

[if !supportLists]5. [endif]5. Have a Plan

By attending events and networking, you will soon realise that most attendees are following a personal agenda, and you should too. It could be something very tangible such as wanting to decide whether a jump into broking might be for you. Or your objectives could be less specific, attending an event to tick off confidence goals such as ‘go on my own and meet at least 3 people in the industry I don’t already know’. Either way, it is useful to set reasonable expectations on what you will get out of attending a networking event – you might be surprised by what you can accomplish.

#Networking #Events #Tips #Connections #Insurance