You may feel a bit left out. You might be in the need of a change. Is your current role too bland? Your career is as important as your overall health so don't neglect networking!
Networking is a type of interpersonal skill which is crucial for communicating appropriately with a wide variety of people. It can be conveyed in a couple of forms such as:
Simple random interactions may not be seen as a proper networking. It's not only about opening an interaction, but also about maintaining the relationship afterwards. This can be levied through written communication, phone catch up and relevant in person activities.
That's a very good question and I'll try to be very plain with it. In this world, we practically depend on each other, we cannot do everything ourselves. So practically, networking is our gateway to achieving our goals with ease. First of all, it helps you understand other people. Secondly, you'll be able to convey your message in a clear and concise way. Last and not least, if you have a valuable conversation it will most likely be of benefit to both sides.
Of course, business environment is not much different from our personal realm. In business, bringing value to the conversation is critical to conclude deals, manage situations or leading groups of people. The ultimate goal of a business is to ensure cash-flow which is ultimately achieved through solid networking relationships.
Now even if you are not a client facing employee, networking can benefit your career in these scenarios:
For sure, technical skills are really as equally important as soft skills. Being a good technical person is a way to propel your career into different areas, gain the respect of the team members and the praises of your manager. However, lately there is a shift in this matter: companies tend to prefer candidates who are at least equally competent in networking as well.
Things are happening so quickly nowadays that most of the jobs are very quickly transforming in a short time-frame. Being so quick-paced means workers have to grasp on new knowledge quickly and be able to communicate effectively with both management and coworkers.
At work, having a good networking web will make you more valuable to the company because of a couple of reasons:
Being an introvert is a super good thing, says me, another introvert! With patience, you can sure break down the barriers and be an introvert outgoing person which will grow his career step by step!
In this matter, my first personal piece of advice is to realize that this world is yours too and your voice needs to be heard! Don't build tension and frustration inside if you have something to say. Express yourself in a calm and confident way.
You may also be quite thoughtful about what others think of yourself or how they'll react after hearing you. It's easy to say that you shouldn't care about what they think. In reality, it's more complex than that. You should always take constructive criticism into consideration. The brutal truth is that people will always be talking, chit-chatting or stating untrue allegations. The hard lesson here is to accept human nature as it is by working your way with it, not against it.
There are many types of soft skills that are important in the workplace especially nowadays. Networking is for sure a king among soft skills because without it you are like a Ferrari without engine. In vain you may invest in technical skills if you don't make an effort to convey it to the outside world. This is crucial to stay relevant in our today's fast pacing world and to ensure your career advances quickly!
Really eager to hear from you, so I encourage to send feedback using the contact form! Cheers and all the best 😀!