NETWORKING

Your network is your community of professional and personal contacts

Purpose Networking is intended to develop a professional community of associates who you may share
common interests and goals with. Networking is NOT about using people to get what you want.

To network well requires a great deal of self-awareness, others awareness and the ability to build
bridges between the two.
 Network because you are genuinely interested in the person, role or organization
 Network because you may one day be able to help another person out
 Network because you believe you have something to offer that can help others

Did you know? TYPES OF NETWORKING

“Authenticity is a daily practice. Informal vs Formal
Choosing authenticity means
cultivating the courage to be •Casual, unplanned •Info session,
emotionally honest, to set •Social function interviews
boundaries, and to allow •Recruiting
events
ourselves to be vulnerable.” –
Brené Brown, MSW, PhD

Do your research
What you think is important + what interests a professional = what is relevant. This will require you to
investigate what does interest professionals that will be at your networking event.
Who
Preparation Learn who will be at an event – recruiters, alumni, executives? What do they do? What current event
connects to their work that interests you? Reflect on what common ground you may have with some
of the attendees and get curious about questions you may want to ask, or the story of the people who
will be there.
Where
The “where” will also determine what you wear. Dress appropriately for the networking event space
– whether it’s at an office, restaurant, café or at school or conference centre, it’s important to dress
for the job you want.
Why
At the end of the day, we all want to talk to and get to know people we find interesting. If you are
genuinely interested in finance, you will feel confident in having talking points to discuss with
someone who is in the same field. Asking questions like, “What does your day look like?” or “What do
you like about your job?” can be telling that you are asking really broad, general questions. It is
impressive when you can converse with a genuine knowledge of an industry. Know yours. We
network to share who we are and find opportunities to fit our skill sets with employment.
Go Online
LinkedIn and Ten Thousand Coffees will be one of your best resources before and after a networking
opportunity. Discover more about an industry, position or specific person so that you will be well
informed when you are face to face with someone. Similarly, you can follow up with people after
meeting them on both platforms by asking them to connect. To learn more about how to do this, sign
up for the LinkedIn Workshops.
Developed by Rotman Commerce Career Education & Coaching, 2017
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To do Face to Face Online

Parts Expand •Research who will be attending the
networking event and potential contacts
•Investigate people on LinkedIn and Ten
Thousand Coffees you can arrange an
Your you want to make informational interview with. Carefully
Comfort •Reflect on the purpose you want to consider the “why” behind the “who”
Zone connect with the people you do

Plan •What is your 30 seconnd memorable •Create a professional introduction

pitch? Given the opportunity what message that you can use for cold
would you say to a potential employer? contacts – these should be as tailored to
Tips: the individual as possible

Strategize • 1) Situational awareness – Your ability
 Carry contact/business cards to read a situation and adapt to it can
with you wherever you go help you identify the timing of when to
 Know when to ask more and approach someone
• 2) Quantity vs. quality – It’s not about
when to move on
how many people you meet, but about
 Pay attention to names and who and the quality of the interaction.
repeat it when appropriate to Invest your time wisely
help you remember • 3) Questions – Have questions to ask,
but also be prepared to listen.
 Names will also be important
Networking should never be an
to connect on LinkedIn interrogation or peppering someone
with questions. Actively listen.
•When you successfully land the
opportunity to meet in person, be clear
on the information you’re looking for
•Prepare questions that you will be
asking at the meeting; how can you
better understand the role, person or
industry? What are you looking for?
•Create an Excel spreadsheet that
summarizes the meeting, information
you learned and also other people the
interview may have alerted you to learn
more about

Exiting Thank people for their time, smile and Send a follow up email/ message that
shake hands. If appropriate, express the thanks the person for their time. If
desire to reconnect in the future appropriate, express the desire to
continue a professional relationship

Know Thyself
Self-Awareness Self-awareness is often not only knowing ourselves and communicating it, but also about
unspoken things that give others information about who we are. Networking provides a
wonderful opportunity to communicate non-verbal qualities about yourself. For example:

•Eye contact, smile, posture, active listening, initiating

conversations, walk
Confidence

•Clothes, grooming, scent, business cards, pen, facial

expressions when others are talking
Professionalism

•Nodding, eye contact, hand gestures

Interest

Networking can be tough for different personality types. Here are some things to keep in mind.
Introverted Extroverted
Manage your expectations. Networking is about Channel your enthusiasm into making
playing to your strengths. One quality authentic connections. Ask open-ended
conversation is better than 20 poor ones. questions to allow the other person to speak.
Prepare and plan ahead of time.  Leverage your ability to put others at
 Leverage your strong listening skills ease

Developed by Rotman Commerce Career Education & Coaching, 2017