For many of us, the idea of professional networking conjures unctuous thoughts of pressing the flesh with potential employers, laughing at unfunny jokes, and pretending to enjoy ourselves.
No wonder a recent study found that professional networking makes people feel unclean, so much so that they subconsciously crave cleansing products. The study, titled The Contaminating Effects of Building Instrumental Ties: How Networking Can Make Us Feel Dirty, appeared in the December 2014 issue of Administrative Science Quarterly.
EVEN WHEN PEOPLE KNOW NETWORKING IS BENEFICIAL TO THEIR CAREERS, THEY OFTEN DON’T DO IT
says Francesca Gino, a professor in the Negotiation, Organizations & Markets unit at Harvard Business School
Previous psychology research has shown that people think about morality in terms of cleanliness. A 2006 study found that people felt physically dirtier after recalling past transgressions than after recalling good deeds. The study’s authors called it the “Macbeth effect,” referring to the Shakespearean scene in which a guilt-wracked Lady Macbeth tries to wash imaginary bloodstains off her hands.
Networking is a deliberate activity to build, reinforce and maintain relationships of trust with other people to further your goals. Professional networking is simply networking focused on professional goals.” – Andrew Hennigan, Networking speaker, trainer, coach. Author of “Payforward Networking”.
More effort is necessary to support jobseekers in enhancing effective academic networking strategies so that their future collaborations are not dependent only on their individual interpersonal skills. This can be achieved by increasing training opportunities for young researchers and raising general awareness on issues related to academic networking, especially in international contexts.
The outcome of professional networking can be:
- Job offers
- Additional sales
- Access to talent for recruitment
- Offers as a speaker, trainer, etc for a fee or for free as further promotion
- Insights into how things ‘really work’ inside other organizations or fields of business
- Higher social status and access to social events inside and outside the business sphere
Networking means identifying the people and organizations that could be helpful to you in your job search and contact them. Build and use professional networks to kick-start your career.
By constructing your job search network, you are:
- Finding out more about areas of interest, advising people of your range of skills, and letting people know that you are looking for work
- Asking to be part of their network of contacts, and to use their knowledge and information
- Using the “multiplier” principle – the more people who know you are looking, the greater chance of opportunities arising
Your aim in networking is to:
- Obtain more information about your chosen industry
- Decide where best to concentrate your efforts
- Find a job
- Develop a network of professional contacts to use throughout your career
- Our mindsets about networking affect the time and effort we put into it, and ultimately, the return we get on our investment. Why widen your circle of acquaintances speculatively, when there is hardly enough time for the real work? If you think you’re never going to be good at it? Or, that it is in the end, a little sleazy, at best political?
Mind-sets can change and do but only with direct experience. The only way you will come to understand that networking is one of the most important resources for your job and career is to try it and discover the value for yourself.
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