The Importance of Networking
One of the most important benefits of going to professional development programs and conferences is to network. A lot of people don’t realize the importance of having professional or social networks. I have two recent examples to illustrate that sometimes it is all in who you know.
A friend of mine has been looking for someone with a particular skill set for a while. A business opportunity came up that he could only take if he had someone with those skills. He began asking around. When he asked me if I knew anyone, a little bell went off inside my head. I met the person he was looking for through another friend with an impressive network and mind-boggling network connections. I was able to connect the two with very positive results.
When my laptop stopped booting Tuesday, I told a few geeky friends about what happened, hoping for some insight. None of them had an immediate solution, but they suggested I talk to the guys at a local Mac store’s Genius Bar. The guys at the bar were incredibly helpful. Instead of leaving my machine in their care, though, I decided to take it with me to try some other options and to try to find a place that could repair it before needing it this weekend. I told one of the friends who recommended the bar what transpired while I was there. A few minutes later, he told me he made arrangements with a friend of his to take a look at my machine. A few hours later, they had not only repaired it, but were able to save most of my data, too. That was totally awesome and completely unexpected.
A friend reiterated to me that certain things transpire in face-to-face networking or conversations in the hallway that wouldn’t happen in other environments.
One of the things I’ve learned from past conferences is to not be so shy about just walking up to someone and introducing myself. Many people are there to network and talk with other professionals and are happy to meet people. One easy way to get to know someone is to volunteer to be a mentor, especially for first-time conference goers. Sometimes these relationships develop into more than just having a buddy at a conference.
