Networking Like a Pro: How to Stand Out and Succeed

I’m an introvert. And as an introvert, there is one word that I hate above all others… networking. Networking would be my 4-letter word if it had even close to 4 letters. And I’m guessing many of you feel similarly. At its worst, networking feels sleezy, transactional, and fake. However, at its best, networking opens doors to our dream lives. It can also introduce us to mentors and colleagues that transform our lives for the better.

Consequently, as hard as it is, it’s worth putting in the time and effort to network. This is especially the case if you want to advance in your career. In this post, I’ll give tips and guidance on how to network effectively. I’ll also provide tips for networking as an introvert to make the process easier. By the end, I hope you feel empowered to take the steps to move forward and grow in your career.

Why Is Networking Important?

As noted above, networking is a powerful tool for helping you achieve your career and personal goals. Networking can help you advance in a few different ways. First and perhaps most obviously, it helps you land new and better jobs. According to research, about one-half of job applicants use referrals. Moreover, applicants who are referred are 4.5 times more likely to be successful.

The job market is extremely competitive. This is especially the case when it comes to remote jobs. Consequently, it can be a huge help to have someone within the company vouch for you and forward your resume to the hiring team. Doing so helps your resume stand out and increases the chances that someone will look at it closely.

Additionally, networking can help you advance in your current job. For one, developing strong relationships with your colleagues helps when it comes time for promotions because you’ll have people to advocate for you and your work. By developing relationships with your colleagues and, especially, managers, you’ll also often learn about new opportunities earlier than others might.

Finally, networking helps you find and cultivate relationships with mentors. Mentors are often people who are in more senior positions than your own. They also have a career trajectory you’d like to emulate. Having mentors is super important because they help you understand how to build your skills and progress in your career. They also provide a sounding board for important workplace issues. And they can strategize with you to figure out how to deal with problems you’re experiencing.

Tips for Networking

However, many of us struggle to find potential mentors and strike up a relationship with them when we do find someone we admire. This is where networking comes in. By building up relationships through workplace events, informational interviews, and regular communications, you can meet and identify potential mentors and connections. You can also develop a relationship foundation that makes it easier to ask if they’ll be your mentor and/or refer you for a job.

So how do you network and build those working relationships? Luckily, there are a variety of options. For us introverts, those options range in their level of commitment and intimidating-ness. I’ll go over each of those options below. But first, I’ll discuss a few tips for networking. These apply regardless of the type you are using.

Get to Know Someone Before Asking for a Favor

First, do not ask someone for a reference or job referral the first time you meet them. Likewise, do not ask them to be your mentor after the first meeting. Your first meeting and, ideally, your first couple of meetings should focus on building a relationship with that person and getting to know them. Only after you’ve met or chatted with them a couple of times should you consider asking them for any kind of favor.

There are a few benefits of this strategy. First, there’s a good chance you’ll come off as entitled if you ask for a favor before getting to know someone. That person also probably doesn’t know enough about you to genuinely want to help you. By taking the time to get to know someone, you’ll leave a better impression. You’ll also increase their investment in you and your future. As a result, they’ll be more likely to advocate for you.

For introverts, this strategy also has the benefit of taking some of the pressure off an interaction. If we can focus on getting to know someone and asking them questions, we don’t have to worry as much about putting ourselves out there. Many introverts, myself included, find it much easier to interact with people we know. Consequently, it’s easier to think about asking for a favor from someone we’ve developed a relationship with rather than a virtual stranger.

Develop a Networking Script

One of the ways I overcame much of my shyness was through acting in high school. Having a script and a character helped take the pressure off me to come up with things to say in an interaction. As a result, I had the chance to practice being the center of attention while minimizing some of the more anxiety-producing parts of being the center of attention.

You can use a similar strategy to take some of the anxiety out of networking. Before a networking event or interaction, plan your “script.” Develop an elevator pitch about who you are, what you do, and what you want to do. Practice until it becomes easy and natural.

Then, develop a list of questions to ask people you meet. You can even save those questions in your phone to check when you grab a drink or go to the bathroom.

Finally, it can help to adopt a “character.” Don’t completely change your personality. However, you might imagine that you are playing a character that is a more confident, outgoing version of yourself. It sounds cheesy, but sometimes this strategy helps.

Follow-Up After a Meeting

Finally, make sure you follow-up after you meet someone you’d like to build a relationship with. Get their contact info before you part if you don’t have it already. Then send an email saying how much you enjoyed meeting them, thanking them for their time, and noting you’d love to meet up again. Personally, I’d wait for a response before suggesting a subsequent time to meet up, though your approach may vary depending on the situation.

Tap Your Current Network

The first kind of networking you can do can sometimes feel the easiest and the hardest: tapping your current network. Do a little investigating to figure out if any of your friends, family members, acquaintances, or even friends of friends know anyone in a career or industry you’d like to connect with.

LinkedIn is set up well for this kind of sleuthing. Additionally, if you are looking to change jobs or careers, tell everyone you can. Mention that if anyone knows anyone in that area to let you know as you’re looking to learn more about the job/field. They may offer up ideas and connections.

If it’s a friend of a friend, ask if they can introduce you. If it’s someone you already know, reach out via text, email, or social media. This is where I sometimes think this is the hardest option because I always feel incredibly awkward reaching out to someone I haven’t talked to in a long time, especially if it’s for a favor!

Script for Making Networking Connections

Consequently, you can try using the script below. Of course, feel free to modify the script to fit your tone and preferences. However, regardless of the words you use, focus the message on your desire to learn more about the person and their experience. Save asking for a reference or other big favor until you’ve spent more time chatting.

Hello [inert name],

I hope you’re doing well! What have you been up to lately? [Potentially insert another question or comment related to a shared memory.

I’m sorry for reaching out out of the blue. However, I’m looking to [change jobs/enter industry/etc.] and know you have a lot of great experience in that area. I’d love to buy you coffee or have a phone chat to learn more about your experience and get your advice as I make this transition.

If you have time and are interested, please let me know. I’m happy to find a time that works for you!

Best,

[Your name]

Reach out to Recruiters Directly

The next option is to reach out to recruiters directly. If you have a LinkedIn Premium subscription, you can message people who are outside of your network. This is a great option if you are very seriously planning on changing jobs and/or have identified specific people you would really like to talk to. I haven’t found many of the other Premium features that useful. So if you are not ready to reach out to specific people, the monthly cost hasn’t been worth it for me personally.

You can also reach out to recruiters you’ve already connected with on LinkedIn. Whenever you apply for a job and talk with a recruiter, try to connect with them on LinkedIn, even if the job doesn’t work out. You may be able to connect with them again in the future. I’ve done this in the past and gotten great advice from recruiters. If you made a good impression, they may also be able to refer you to future jobs as well.

Aside from LinkedIn, you can research companies’ “People” or “About Us” pages and try to find the contact information for employees or recruiters you’d like to reach out to. Generally, you’ll only find pages with individual employees featured on the websites of smaller companies, but it’s worth a shot.

As noted in the advice above, do not ask for a job or referral right away. Take the time to ask for their professional advice, get to know them a little, and give them a little background on you. You can follow up to ask if they’d be willing to review your resume for a role, but never ask for that right out of the gate.

Conduct Informational Interviews

Informational interviews are a great tool for getting to know people in your field. With this strategy, reach out to someone you admire and ask if they’d be willing to get coffee or do a phone or video call so you can better get to know them and their career journey.

Great questions to ask people during informational interviews are:

• What advice would you give someone who is starting their career in this field?
• Can you tell me a little bit more about your career journey and what has helped you advance in your career?
• What are your favorite and least favorite parts about your job?
• Where do you see your field heading in the next 5 to 10 years? Are there skills you think people in your field should be developing to prepare for those changes?
• What do you wish people knew about your job/field?

During these interviews, focus on getting to know the person and their job/field. You can and should provide background about yourself and your motivations. However, researchers find that people rate their interactions better if the person they’re interacting with focuses on listening and asking questions rather than dominating a conversation. Plus, you’ll get a lot out of the interaction by learning more about that person and the job you’re interested in.

These informational interviews can provide a great foundation to then later ask someone to refer you for a job, become your mentor, or keep you abreast of opportunities. However, remember to focus on building a little foundation before asking for favors.

Attend Networking Events

For many of us introverts, this will be the most dreaded form of networking. Attending networking events is my personal idea of hell. However, there is an important place for these types of events.

Networking events are a great way to meet a lot of people in a field you’re interested in. This is especially the case if you don’t have many connections in an area or if you are looking to make connections at companies where you don’t know anyone. If you feel like you’re at a dead end in your networking, it probably means you should look into attending one of these events.

You can find networking events by searching online at MeetUp and Eventbrite. Additionally, industry blogs are a great source of information on networking events and conferences. Your workplace might even pay for you to attend industry conferences if they are relevant to your current job!

Additionally, consider whether there are any social events or volunteer opportunities where you might meet people in your field. For example, I work at a university that sponsors yoga classes, volunteer events, and skill-building workshops. I could attend these events to meet people who work in a wide variety of areas at the university.

Participate in Social Media Networking

Participating in social media posts and conversations has become an important (and low-cost) way to network. An easy introduction to this strategy is to follow people who you’d like to connect with on LinkedIn or relevant, professional social media platforms and simply like their posts.

As you gain confidence, consider leaving comments on their posts. And finally, you can progress to providing longer responses to questions people have or even posting your own statuses. I admittedly hate posting on social media, so this is a tough one for me. However, as noted above, you can work up to that step if you want.

Posting on social media may sound silly or not meaningful enough to make a difference. However, social media posts, likes, and comments can be a great way to get your name in people’s minds. It can also help them associate you with a career or field. And providing thoughtful or kind responses to a post can highlight that you are knowledgeable and/or a great person to work with. All of these can help you stand out when it comes time to apply to jobs, seek a referral, and/or ask someone to be your mentor.

Final Thoughts on Networking

Networking can feel incredibly awkward and cringy. It’s even worse if you’re an introvert. However, networking is super important if you want to advance in your career. Luckily, there are a few steps you can take to make networking easier, including developing a script, focusing on setting a foundation, and following-up after.

You can also network in a variety of different ways depending on what works best for you and your career. You might start with an easier form of networking and work up to forms that scare you more. If you take the time to practice, you’ll gain an important life skill and hopefully open up so many doors of opportunity.

Do you have other networking tips? Are there networking opportunities you’ve taken advantage of and especially loved (or hated)? Did they help your career? Let me know in the comments!

If you liked this post, please consider liking, subscribing, or sharing with others. It’s always a huge help! Interested in related content? Check out my posts on asking for a promotion or raise, how to make the most of your hybrid or remote job, how to pursue a career change, and how to write a great resume.