At the end of my sophomore year of college, I found myself at a career crossroads. The pandemic hit a few months ago and like most students across the country, I left campus and returned home. As I spent the remainder of the school year sitting cross-legged in my childhood bedroom, I had no choice but to wrestle with the ever-looming question: What do I really want to do with my life?
Media and culture have always been my passions, but I never saw them as sustainable paths to follow. But the bleakness of the pandemic shook me and I decided to switch from business to journalism with no portfolio, no connections and no experience during what seemed like the most inopportune time to make a career change. The only resource I had at my disposal was the internet – and as it turns out, I didn’t need much else. Over the following weeks, I scoured the depths of Twitter—reading profiles of journalists my age and seasoned writers with dream gigs. I figured the best way to learn more about the industry was to talk to people who were in it. I Twitter-DM’d anyone I thought was remotely interesting and asked to get on the phone with them. To my surprise, not a single person declined—and through these conversations I learned about programs to apply to, editors to approach, and other writers I should try to talk to.
At the time, I didn’t consider what I was doing to be “networking.” I always associated the term with putting on a fake persona, connecting with professionals on LinkedIn, or talking to recruiters at the companies I applied for. In fact, this is one of the biggest misconceptions about networking – and it’s what turns so many people away from one of the most important skills to building a successful career. According to HubSpot, 85 percent of jobs are filled through networking. Seventy percent of jobs are never advertised publicly, which means that so many opportunities arise simply from talking to people – whether it’s a formal coffee chat or DM on Twitter. It’s a scary reality, especially for those who don’t come from privileged backgrounds or who weren’t born with connections that can help them. Fortunately, there are many tactics and tools anyone can use to strengthen or build new relationships – especially in the digital age.
Want to learn how to network but don’t know where to start? Here is a simple guide that shows you that the term is not as scary or scary as it all seems. It’s actually quite intuitive and like most things, it gets easier the more you do it. So give it a shot, because talking to the right person can go a long way.
First online with friends
There’s no easier place to start networking than with people you already know. You may be thinking, “I already know what everyone around me does. How can they help me?” As much as we like to think otherwise, the world does not revolve around us. People, even those closest to us, are not constantly thinking about us and our needs. They also cannot read our minds.
A close mentor, professor, or even friend might know you’re vaguely interested in something, but have no idea you’re actively looking for a job or learning more unless you tell them. All along, they could have had the resources to help you or introduce you to someone who might know more than they do. I was talking to someone about journalism and they said to me: “Do you know so-and-so? They do something similar, and I sure would love to talk to you about it!” It never hurts to ask for an introduction, or you can contact them directly.
Reactivate free links (email is your friend)
Almost 50 years ago, Mark Granovetter, a sociologist at Stanford University, published an influential paper titled “The Strength of Weak Ties.” In it, Granovetter showed that those we consider to be part of our outer circle of acquaintances (“weak ties”) are more likely to be sources of information and new ideas than those in our inner circles (“weak ties”). strong”).
In his research, Granovetter surveyed 282 Boston-based workers and found that 84 percent found their jobs through poor relationships. The argument is simple: those in your inner circles usually have the same information and overlapping networks that you do. An acquaintance is more likely to have a different perspective and can act as a bridge to other networks that you cannot see.
“Innovation means getting out of your little social bubble, or, as we’ve learned to say, ‘echo chamber,’ and talking to people you don’t know very well, who are doing things you never imagined ,” Granovetter told me in an email. “If you only know people you work with every day, you won’t learn anything new about how to do things.”
Contacting that friend who works in a field you are interested in can open up even more circles for you. You don’t need to have a specific reason to reconnect, other than being interested in the other person and what they’re up to. People are usually always open to talking about themselves, especially when it’s with someone who is trying to learn from them. An email can be as simple as:
Greetings [their name],
I hope you are having a good time! My name is [your name] and I am [brief sentence of your experiences or what you’ve been working on]. I am very interested in [field/industry/job] and I remember hearing from [friend’s name] in which you work [field/industry/job]. If you have time, I’d love to learn more about it and your experiences! Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you again.
The best,
[your name]
“Homo sapiens evolved from apes, and apes are very social,” Granovetter said. “There are a lot of studies about their networks, so in terms of evolution, we’re already predisposed to be social.”
However, access to social capital is not available to everyone in the same way. “The research, (and not just my research) is consistent with the finding that social capital tends to be more limited for African Americans and other minority groups than their white counterparts,” Danielle Taana Smith, a professor of Africana studies -American at Syracuse University and director of the Renée Crown University Honors Program, says. “I would encourage individuals in minority groups to seek out people who can be allies, seek out mentors, and build close relationships with them.” Professional organizations and peer mentoring programs that exist at universities and corporations are a good place to start, Smith says.
Google and social media are also your friends
With the ability to find and reach people with a quick Google search, networking has never been easier — and has become even more accessible since the pandemic put restrictions on in-person events.
Social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook can be used for much more than just sharing experiences with friends. Depending on the industry you are in or looking to be in, these platforms can act as a way to connect with people randomly. Making an initial introduction via DM can lead to a more formal email or phone call, especially if you have mutual friends or followers. It can be as simple as saying something like, “Hello, [their name], I hope you are having a good time! I am [your name] and I saw that you work at [specific job/role]which I really care about. [Sentence talking about your own experiences.] If you have time, I’d love to learn more about what you do. If so, tell me a good way to contact you!”
Meanwhile, professional networking sites like LinkedIn are not only useful for connecting with those in industries like business or technology (among others), but also for building a digital presence. Cultivating and updating a profile that reflects your interests, skills and experiences encourages people and companies to contact you – opening yourself up to opportunities you may not have known about.
“In a way, Internet access has further democratized the world because it has provided opportunities for everyone,” says Smith. “For minority groups, or those who traditionally do not have access to social capital, the Internet is a way to gain access to information. It is a way to form organizations that may not be in your geographic area. In a very real sense, it expands your access to social resources.”
Keep in touch and always send a thank you note
Perhaps the most important yet overlooked step of networking is keeping in touch with the people you’ve connected with. After a phone call or coffee chat, always remember to send a thank you note to the person who took time out of their day to talk to you. It is better to mention specific anecdotes from your conversation and repeat your experiences and what interests you. Feel free to keep it short:
Greetings [their name],
I hope you are having a good time! Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me [topic]. I learned a lot from our conversation and especially enjoyed listening [their experience/what they talked about]. [Sentence about an action you plan on taking going forward/what you took from the conversation.] Good luck and keep in touch!
The best,
[your name]
Ghosting someone after they’ve volunteered their time and only reaching out if you need something from them is an ineffective way to build real connection and is likely to make the interaction feel transactional. As with any relationship, it’s important to check in from time to time – to ask the other person what they’ve been up to, as well as update them on new experiences you may have had.
After all, at the heart of networking is learning how to create and strengthen meaningful, long-lasting relationships. It’s not as scary or foreign as you might think.
Teresa Xie is a freelance writer for publications such as Pitchfork, Teen Vogue, NPR, and The Nation.
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