Is networking a necessary evil or a great social connector?

Networking in professional career is one such subject where the world is divided. If you talk to management gurus, they will talk at length about the benefits of networking. Even the first page of Google search on networking is all about the pros.

Then why do some people find it aversive? Why for some it is a great way to meet new people while for others it’s just a way of socializing and pleasing others to advance your professional career.

We start by looking at the cohesiveness of each of these groups.

One common factor that you might notice amongst these two groups of people are: the first ones are generally extroverts for whom socializing comes naturally, and for the second one; it requires them to go out of their comfort zone.

So, does this mean networking is just another trait that is related to your personality? While there may be a correlation, but it is not causal. Before we jump into conclusions, lets look at what is the general dictionary meaning of networking.

Networking is the action or process of interacting with others to exchange information and develop professional or social contacts.

When we look at that definition couple of things standout: interacting with others, develop professional or social contacts. All of these are outside the comfort zone for introverts.

We all know that introverts feel more comfortable focusing on their inner thoughts and ideas rather than spending time with groups of people.

Hence, your personality has a corelation with how you look at networking — necessary evil or a great social connector.

But does that mean networking in workplace is doable/enjoyable for only a few who can do it naturally?

The answer is a big no! Because just like other things in life such as family dinners, meeting childhood friends and even occasional office parties; if you mold it the way it suits you and your personality it can work wonders. Here’s how:

1. Define your why: Turn the narrative around and ask yourself that if done your way; why do you think networking is important? What can someone gain out of it? My answer is: building meaningful and limited social connections. Why? To grow as a person by learning from people’s experiences.

2. Treat it like a skill: It’s like when you want to build a great body or when you want to develop a reading habit; there is a period when you are in the learning phase and flexing the unused muscle. But once you have done that for a while, it becomes easy breezy! Treat networking as a skill that you want to add in your repertoire of skills and then flex that muscle.

3. Find your circle: To each one his own. Network with people with whom you connect easily/naturally. Find others like you and start conversations. Find people with similar interests/passions and you will soon find the conversations are much easier to have. I started networking with people with whom I had common things to talk about and now it doesn’t seem like a task.

4. Find your own time: Whether you want to make it a calendar thing or want to keep it fluid; want to do it weekly or monthly; upto you. I like to plan and hence I usually put a time on my calendar to network with one new person every two weeks.

All of this worked for me. Once I identified my why and adapted my networking style to suit my personality; I have grown as a person immensely by learning from people’s rich experiences and have also made some great friends on the way.

Start by finding your why!