Fast cars and shmoozing over free food - is that what the VP does? If I'd known, said one of my colleagues, I would have applied. Joking aside, shmoozing, or as its officially know "networking" is a very important part of this kind of job and as a rule those who did maths or a physics type subject at university aren't naturally good at that sort of thing. Its even harder of course when you need to network in room full of similar types! I had hoped that lunch on the Parliamentary terrace would mean meeting the movers and shakers of the scientific business world. Instead however, there were the 80 somethings lords and ladies of this that and the other, the chief scientifc officer of course and a few MPs as well as people representing other learned societies but no business chiefs of small start ups or even people comfortable with social media networking. I like meeting new people but even I had to work hard when I found myself sitting next to one of the VPs from the Mathematical Society. However, over a plateful of very rare fillet steak and beautifully cooked green beans we bonded over the lack of post-graduate maths opportunities, although I had to change the subject when the conversation drifted to "if only mathematicians ruled the world!" I was tempted to say wasn't it you guys who got us into the financial mess in the first place but decided that I'd rather enjoy my dessert of lemon syllabub.
Anyway enough about me I thought for this blog I'd leave you with some networking tips and links to some webpages I've found.
Anyway enough about me I thought for this blog I'd leave you with some networking tips and links to some webpages I've found.
Networking is:
•
Connecting with others
•
Helping and sharing
knowledge and contacts with others
•
Deciding to find people
genuinely interesting and fascinating
Networking is not:
•
Promoting or selling goods
or services
•
Landing a job
•
Extracting a donation
•
Wrangling funding
•
Schmoozing or ingratiating
oneself to gain an advantage
Networking is not about who you know - it’s
about who knows you!
http://www.aim.com.au/networking/10tips.html
http://www.top10networkingtips.com
My own
one is "just relax" don't think of it as work, think of it as meeting
new friends.
There are no strangers here; Only
friends you haven't yet met.
William Butler Yeats
Struck by your list of what "networking" is (or not). Very interesting indeed, as I am sure lot's of people may end up being "offended" by your 'networking is not' list...
ReplyDeleteHi, thanks for your comments. I do confess that I lifted it straight from one of the web pages listed below the list you mentioned. I think the point I was trying to make (and certainly not to offend) is that some people find the idea of networking terrifying and see it as some abstract or separate thing from themselves and often do think about it in negative terms and cringe at the thought. What I wanted to present instead was that in fact it is an ability inherent in ourselves to just get to know other people. Hope that clarifies. A :)
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