How to Strengthen Your Network When You’re Just Starting Out
If you’re new to the workforce, the guidance you need, like how to thrive in a new role or pursue a promotion, can be difficult to find.
Job and life advice for young professionals. See more from Ascend here.
When you’re just starting out, making new connections and strengthening your professional network are vital to getting to where you want to go. But the guidance you need, like how to thrive in a new role or pursue a promotion, can be difficult to find in your inner circle.
New employees tend to make professional connections based on proximity (colleagues they see the most) or commonalities (the colleagues most like themselves). But that’s a mistake. When you network with colleagues like you or near you, you create an echo chamber which circulates only the same ideas about the same opportunities. That sameness benefits neither you nor your peers, especially when it comes to innovation and growth.
While it may be intimidating to leave the safety of your circle, you should. Strong, diverse networks help you stay on top of the latest trends in your industry, meet new collaborators, and gain access to opportunities or resources that can help you be more effective in your work. The best (yet often overlooked) way to build this kind of network is to focus on your lateral connections: peers who work in different areas of your company. Many early career employees don’t recognize how powerful these relationships can be.
Lateral connections give you a broader, more varied view of your organization, one that ultimately shapes the quality of your work and gives you access to breakthrough opportunities. For instance, say you are a sales associate who has limited interactions with a coordinator on the product development team. Taking the initiative to form a relationship with that person could expose you to the innovations they are working on, allowing you to gain a deeper understanding of each product and equipping you with the personal stories behind their development. Those insights and stories will enable you to be far more effective in making a sale. Meanwhile, the product coordinator will learn from you exactly how a customer thinks when deciding whether to buy the product, allowing your colleague to make smarter suggestions fueled by customer insights during brainstorming meetings.
This is just one example of how mutually beneficial these cross-departmental relationships can be. Strengthening you interdepartmental network can also give you access to opportunities that may be brewing in other parts of your company before they become public.
So, how exactly can you start?
During company-wide or cross-departmental meetings, pay attention and make note of the people and projects you find most interesting. It’s best to be strategic about this — don’t reach out to only those who seem like they’d make a good friend; reach out to those whose work has some intersection with your own. If you’re an editor, think about connecting with the graphic designers whose work complements your writing. If you’re in finance, consider reaching out to your peers in sourcing and discuss with them how the company manages currency fluctuations or transportation costs.
A helpful way to build lateral connections is by attending or planning events with people who are not on your team. If you are working from home, virtual group happy hours or coffee breaks are good options. Conversations that occur during these meetings are often informal and free flowing. If your office has opened back up, you could drop a message to a couple peers in other departments whom you’d like to connect with and ask if they’d like to grab a quick (socially distanced) lunch. Remember, your goal should be building strong relationships, not just exchanging notes about work. That starts with getting to know people.
Here are a few conversation-starters to kick things off:
Work-related:
I am still getting a feel for things around here. It would be great to learn about the most exciting thing you’re working on right now.
I am curious about the work you did on the [project name]. Tell me more about how you did that research.
You’ve been here for [ ] years. What important changes have you seen in that time?
Non-work-related:
Do you have any movie or binge-watch recommendations?
What do you want to remember from these Covid months?
Have you taken any interesting courses lately?
Whatever the event, when it’s over, be sure to follow up with those you most want to keep up with. You might send them a quick email the next day, saying, “Hi! I am [ ] and I joined [ ] days ago.” Then state something personal to make the connection, like, “I heard during the virtual happy hour that you’re learning Spanish on Duo. I was excited to hear that as I’m interested in studying a second language too.” Finally, make a small request: “Would you like to meet for coffee and chat a bit more sometime?”
People usually enjoy talking about their experiences, so if your questions are respectful and specific, it’s rare they will turn you down. This is a great way to start things off. You will inspire each other, and, better yet, help each other solve problems through sharing your diverse experiences and expertise.
If you’re working remotely, take advantage of apps like Slack. Find out it there are existing chat groups you could join. If not, you could take the lead on setting up channels for specific topics (and they don’t have to be about work!). Think travel, tech, cooking, gardening, film, or a word-of-the-day group. Begin by asking your colleagues what topics they are most interested in discussing — you can do this by way of a simple email or using free survey tool such as Survey Monkey or Google Survey. Then, bring together the group on a platform your company uses or via Google Hangouts or Facebook.
For starters, you and the other people in the group will have one thing in common: the reason you joined the group. Generate active participation in the group by asking a colleague or two to jump start the chat. Others will follow suit organically.
Another excellent strategy for building lateral connections is to embrace assignments that involve collaboration with new counterparts in the organizations. If your company has various committees (such as the sustainability committee, social planning committee, or in today’s world, a virtual celebrations committee), volunteer: these are often cross-departmental opportunities and are a valuable way to get to know people you’d normally not work with. You can learn about these opportunities at your company’s intranet, via e-newsletters, and by asking your supervisor or HR representative.
Many companies have social responsibility volunteer opportunities as well. An internal sales representative I mentor found out about her company’s softball team by talking with her peers in another department. Through this, she has friendships with peers she otherwise would not have met. Also, check out your company’s learning and development website. It will have information on short courses, which are a terrific way to build your skills and meet new people.
Once you have made an initial connection, you can build towards a strong relationship that makes the most of your complementary skills and experiences. Start with showing your interest in understanding others’ work by asking specific questions, and even asking for advice that would be easy for them to give. For example, if a colleague in human resources gives a presentation that intrigues you, let them know and see if they could spare 20 to 30 minutes helping you prepare for a presentation you are developing. By asking for help, you will receive valuable assistance and strengthen your connection along the way. As Ben Franklin wrote in his autobiography, “He that has once done you a kindness will be more ready to do you another, than he whom you yourself have obliged.” Start there, but do provide reciprocity, as a one-sided connection is not a pathway to a strong relationship.
These strategies are straightforward, but too often are overlooked and undervalued. Making lateral connections is important for not just strengthening your network, but also leading you to new opportunities. They can help you be more effective in your work and spark great ideas by bridging the different worlds of knowledge you will have available through your network— not to mention, they are some of the easiest to achieve.
So why not take advantage and start now?
How to Strengthen Your Network When You’re Just Starting Out
Research & References of How to Strengthen Your Network When You’re Just Starting Out|A&C Accounting And Tax Services
Source