Online networking is a great way of remaining plugged into your career
thinking, perhaps now more than ever, and networking itself can be thought of as
the interaction between the personal and the professional. I'd define it as the
forming of productive relationships i.e. those where value can be exchanged. Done
well, it can help open doors, to help learn the language of a sector, perhaps
gain a mentor and grant access to the staggering 80% or so of roles that are
never advertised - particularly at a time when more traditional recruitment
practices may be disrupted. So let's roll the intro and get right into it!
One mistake I see people who network online making is leading with an ask; that
is to communicate what you want before you've built enough connection in a
relationship - and this is a big no-no. Networking is a slow art - it rewards
patient investment and authenticity. So give people a reason to want to help you
by building rapport and giving value; be that through your attention, time, skill
or by asking questions you care about knowing the answers to... juicy questions
that you'd love to be asked in five years time when you are an established
professional in your chosen field. So if you have aspirations to become a
scientific journalist, perhaps writing to a scientific journal whose work you
admire, asking a question they'll probably enjoy answering. Now if you're
on board, use the following three steps to initiate your first contact online...
Firstly, compliment them precisely. So sticking with the science communication
example, maybe something like "I loved your article on theories relating to
dark matter in the universe and potentially a multiverse particularly
how you handle competing theories with tact and care". Second, demonstrate your
own value through showing a parallel e.g. "there's a parallel with my own
experience writing about cosmic inflation theories as part of my second
year Physics module at UCL. Third, "might we be able to have a chat sometime about
how I could gain professional exposure to the work you're doing?" Now let's
unpack this using a psychological lens. The first step by complementing them
very precisely, you're giving value by showing you appreciate and acknowledge
something really specific about their work that you noticed. The second step -
you're demonstrating shared values and competence and the subtext here is
communicating the possibility of mutual benefit. Step 3, you're deliberately not
asking for something super tangible, like an internship, because then you give that
person something tangible to say "no" to. You're using tentative language like
this, to make an ask that's as easy as possible for that person to say "yes" to,
and that's also why I don't recommend attaching a CV or a cover letter. The
idea here is that this initial communication should open the door to a
chat over Zoom or Skype and that you take it from there,
slowly. Once, and only once you know that the relationship can bear the weight of
it, then you can make a specific ask. This might be a mentorship relationship,
perhaps remote work experience - continue to give value at every stage and be as
patient as you can. Keep that message nice and short - no one wants to read an
essay - and you can be sure that the majority of people you write to probably
won't reply and that's absolutely fine. You only need it to work once for this
strategy to be effective and it's helped me so many times. Now in terms of where
to network online, LinkedIn's alumni filter is a great way of identifying UCL
alumni who are active in the areas you're interested in and therefore
people you might wish to reach out to, as is UCL's
own alumni community website. You can use the directory to identify those in
professions you might be interested in, looking out for the 'willing to help'
badge and putting that three-part communication strategy into action.
Beyond this, professional bodies can also be a great place to interact with events
and people. A number are running online webinars especially in light of current
situation, LinkedIn Groups can act in a similar way as can replying to people's
blog posts or interacting with them professionally over social media. If
you're interested in research, for example, I recommend reaching out to the
authors of papers that you've appreciated and simply expressing your
gratitude. Now this may go nowhere, or it may just put a smile on the author's
face or it could lead to a conversation where many different
opportunities arise as a result. Now I recommend not being too outcome focused,
but instead focusing on that message and delivering value, that's typically how
the best results come through online networking. The beauty of networking is that
it allows you to access people and opportunities at an exponential rate. The
other thing about networking is that you don't have to have an immediate aim -
networking, or simply active relationship management, is a key constituent of
long-term career health because it's through people that your access to
projects, teams and initiatives is determined, and it's something I wish I knew in my
career earlier. Now remember if you have any questions on networking or online
networking in particular please include them in the comments section down below,
or you can email me at careers.marketing@ucl.ac.uk
That's it from me for this week, I'll see you next time!