Networking.
A word almost as cringe-inducing as saying Volde-I mean, he who must not be named.
Regardless of whether you’re an introvert OR an extrovert - I actually don’t know if anyone admits to enjoying networking.
It’s kind of like exercise. We know it’s good for us but it doesn’t come without some pain - especially at first.
May be over time some of us develop a taste for it - but for the majority of us - we’d rather be at home networking with our cat than shaking hands and pasting on forced smiles with people who couldn’t care less what you do - but they ask anyway because it’s a way to talk about what THEY do.
Can you tell I’m not a big fan of networking?
Just over a year ago I found myself in a new city, away from any contacts or friends i had back in London who I could depend on throwing me a bit of work or helping me out in a time or crisis.
It dawned on me that I was going to have to make a bit more effort than I had been in networking - which prior to this had consisted of going to the occasion meetup with some illustrators and necking a couple of pints.
Looking back, I realise it wasn’t super effective networking anyway.
So first things first: I had to find some opportunities to meet new people.
What I’d like to do in this podcast episode is firstly help you if you know you need to start networking and secondly - to help you do it effectively. Oh and finally to be realistic. If you’re an introvert, like myself, I know that someone telling you to go and do all these mad manipulative tactics like mirroring or working the crowd - it just isn’t going to resonate.
If you’re anything like me, the likelihood of even going to the networking event you signed up for is about a 3/10 chance.
So - hopefully this is actually useful if you’re in a position like I was, knowing you need to network - but doing anything you can to avoid it and reason your way out of it.