Networking plays an important role in our lives. We can meet new people and create long-term, beneficial relationships. Through networking, we get to exchange information, know each other, learn from others' experiences, build empathy towards people and look at a thing from different perspectives.
With emerging social networking sites, man has overcome physical barriers and has got an opportunity to network with people from across the globe.
As a student, it is important to build and enhance your professional network. Networking with people and experts from your field will help you in your career growth.
You can get work opportunities through your connections, promote business and attract potential employers or clients.
Networking helps you in building your career through recommendations and references from your connection. It is thus, very important for students to build their network.
What is networking?
Networking is trading information and ideas to build and maintain a relationship with people for mutual benefit.
When you build a network either personal or professional, it will open doors to many opportunities for you. Building your network will help you to improve your skills, knowledge and perhaps help you to do better in life and have a successful career.
Help the people in your network. And let them help you. - Reid Hoffman
Your primary aim while learning a professional course is to get the degree or the certificate and land up a job. However, we often overlook the importance of networking that plays a major role exactly in the period between getting the degree and getting a job.
You can begin networking right from your institute by connecting with your friends, seniors, professors, and alumni. This will not just help you to get through the curriculum but also will help you to create opportunities in the future.
You can establish connections by participating in events, college gatherings, social work campaigns, and competitions. This will also increase your confidence and develop your communication skills.
So, step out from your comfort zone, build relations, and experience new things. You will create good memories and it will have a large impact on your life and career.
You will find some of the major benefits of networking as you read through this article.
The benefits of networking are:
1. Strengthen business connections
Business is nothing but the strength of your network.
Either you love the fact or hate it, networking is one of the most important aspects for a business to succeed. Or can we say an essential business skill?
Many successful businessmen know that a good network is their net worth, so they invest their time to build strong relationships. More the connections you have more does your business grows.
If you are a job seeker, more connections certainly imply more opportunities. Networking is a two-way process. It is a give-and-take between people.
You cannot simply exploit your network and keep gaining value alone. You need to give back something too. You need to help people out. Your good deeds will resonate back and you can rely upon others' help when you are in need.
So, keep reaching out to people. Keep engaging with them. Sometimes, it is easy to build a relationship but it is tough to maintain it. But make sure, you maintain your relationships in your network so that you can harvest growth from them.
2. Exchange fresh ideas
The second benefit of increasing your connection list is that you can exchange ideas among your network.
By sharing innovative ideas, you can stay up to date related to the current trends and developments in the industry.
You will also receive ideas from others that will help you with your projects or introduce new practices in your workflow.
In this way, you can impress your teachers, professors, or senior authorities. Make sure you listen to other people's ideas to gather the information and support them in order to enhance long-term relationships and mutual trust.
Remember, a single idea can change your future for better or worse.
3. Advance your career
The number one predictor of career success is the size and openness of your network.
The strategy of networking can help you make a successful career.
Regularly visiting networking sites and getting noticed will be helpful for you to advance your career.
You can attend social or professional events to get familiar with your connections and focus on your relationships with them.
After your graduation, networking can help you get a job. To advance your career and to get a step closer to your goal you need help and support which you can get from this network of yours.
4. Get access to job opportunities
Networking makes you more reachable and can bring in a lot of opportunities.
You can be approached by recruiters for job opportunities, or get noticed by people who can create an opportunity for you.
You can meet the right clients or senior professionals who can recommend you or give you an opportunity to work in their company.
Active networking helps you to get career advice, improve your skills, and look for the right opportunities.
Networking with school or college alumni proves to be very beneficial since they can tell you about their experiences, how did they succeed, the right path to follow, the right direction to search for the job, and many more.
5. Get career advice and support
Getting advice, support, recommendation, and opportunities are the main benefit of networking.
You can get career advice from your prospective connections that will help you to make a decision on what you have to do after your graduation if you get stuck. You can get insights on interview skills and preparation tips. Their experience can be a guiding light for you.
6. Build confidence:
Meeting and connecting to new people will improve your communication skills and develop confidence.
Self-confidence will help you to achieve your goals and bring out the best in you.
Networking helps you to increase your leadership quality. Promotes empathy towards others and builds your overall personality.
7. Gain a different perspective
Different ideas and values of different people can add a unique perspective to your own.
You can get different points of view and ideas to solve a problem.
The connections in your network will help you to get fresh ideas. You can approach a problem with different perspectives.
You can have various feasible solutions to a single problem which will give you the advantage to choose the one that is most economical and that which suits you the best.
9. Develop long-lasting relationships
Networking can help you to develop professional long-lasting relationships that add some value to your life.
Helping out your connections in their time of need will make your relationships stronger.
Some contacts in your network might have similar goals as yours, and you two can come together to work on them.
Now that you have got the importance of networking, you can start building your own network.
Networking is very important in the corporate world to grow your career and achieve your goals. It is important, to begin with, professional networking right from your college days.
Networking is a long-term process. You cannot build your network in one day. It takes time and effort. However, once you are successful at constructing a strong personal and professional network, things become a bit easier for you.
Networking is investing in people and relationships. This investment when made carefully is bound to give amazing returns.
So? what are the ways in which you plan to build your network? Let us know in the comments.
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