In the last ten years, out of the six jobs and internships I've had,
I've only directly applied to one of them. The rest I've gotten through networking.
Today I'll share with you my most effective networking tips. So after learning these,
you'll never struggle to find a job. I'm Samanvay a data scientist living in Sydney, Australia.
My first networking tip is the most important one, which is don't network. Now that might
sound a little bit weird given that you've just clicked on a networking video and the first thing
I'm telling you is not to network, but hear me out. So most people's notion of networking is
developed at university, where you're forced to go to these industry events and also drop career
fairs to interact with employers. And most people take the approach of just asking for jobs and
internships directly, so it ends up feeling very awkward, pushy and false. But real networking is
far from getting dressed up and going for drinks to these fancy events and asking for internships.
Real networking is more like making a friend. You have to be genuinely interested in getting to know
the other person and developing a relationship, because networking is, at the end of the day,
just forming human connection. So really try to talk to people that you're generally interested
in getting to know. Ask them about their job, their experience, their life so far,
and try to learn a couple of things out of that experience.
Don't even go there with the intent of trying to secure an internship
because those things are bound to come as side effect of forming a genuine human connection.
This approach is usually low effort because you're not forcing yourself to make conversation,
you're just forcing yourself to be curious about the other person. This way it is a two way
exchange rather than a transactional conversation. And just a pro tip. When it comes to doing this
type of networking, it's always best to talk to people one on one. So the usual setting in career
fairs is usually five or six students that are surrounding a single person or a single employer.
Those types of discussions don't really go very far in establishing a connection with
the employer or the professional. So try to always keep conversations one on one with an effort to
establish a genuine connection. If you're enjoying the video so far, then consider subscribing. I
make weekly videos about demystifying data. My next tip is to be part of communities.
Meeting people is a lot more organic when you're part of a community because everyone
has a shared interest in that common group of people. Communities can look anything like rock
climbing clubs or archery club or even startup and tech communities. I'm generally interested in the
startup scene and the technology industry having worked in It and also having lots of friends in
It. So I gravitate towards communities like Early Work or Startling, which are also excellent places
to find great jobs or technology jobs and meeting cool, interesting people that are just like you.
Being part of these communities pushes you out of your comfort zone and gets you to meet new
people, which also increases your surface area for serendipity to happen.
So I can't understand the benefits of putting yourself out there. My next step is something
I've gotten a lot out of it to create in public. This is the process of documenting your journey
and making content that is valuable to others. So you'll be surprised by how much you're going
to learn by creating something in public, because others can connect with it and reach
out to you if they find things valuable. And obviously this is something I'm doing
right now with this YouTube channel and I can't count the number of people I've met
through it and number of people have reached out to me for advice.
Or I've given you positive feedback about these videos. And it also sets
you apart because you're doing something different, which is something that people
naturally gravitate towards. But creating can look anything like writing a blog post
or writing LinkedIn articles or posting tweets. There are countless ways of creating content
and publishing it on the internet. It's basically a free for all these days.
And content creating often attracts lots of opportunities that we wouldn't have had access to
otherwise. This could be job opportunities, consulting gigs,
sponsorships, or just meeting genuine people that want to help you out. I think content
creating has got to be one of the best things I've done in the last decade. My final tip is
a bit bored. It is to help others and ask for help and advice from others.
This is a general rule of thumb to find as many ways to help others
as possible. This could be through your professional ability or otherwise.
Helping others is one of the most fulfilling ways to connecting
with people. It's definitely a gift that keeps on giving. Secondly, ask for help when you need it.
It shows that you're coachable and that you're not afraid to be vulnerable
in order to better yourself or learn something new. You'll be surprised how many people are out
there that are ready to help you out. You just need to let go of your ego and extend an arm
forward. And this is one of the most fantastic ways of meeting new people.
An example of asking for help could be reaching out to people on LinkedIn and
asking for their specific career advice because you're interested in the trajectory they've taken.
And you'll be surprised how many people are more than happy with offering advice to people. So
that's all the tips I have for you when it comes to networking. If you enjoyed the video, then
smash that like button and I'll see you next time. Bye.