Networking can be easier said than done if you don’t know where and how to start. Networking was extremely hard for me when I started.
I was devastated when I was shown the door by UPS in 2008. I had no idea what I was going to do next. As an introvert, meeting people I’d never met before was the hardest thing I ever had to do – harder than any job or assignment I had. I got better at it, but not before my share of failures. I’m more at ease networking these days and it does gets easier but I’m still an introvert by nature.
Think of it this way, you’re by the ocean and you want to go in. But the water is too cold. So you dip one toe in, then another, then your feet and eventually you take the plunge.
Networking is like that
+ Start slowly with people you meet here
+ Follow-up on connection requests
+ Schedule some time to speak or meet virtually
+ Attend online events – even if it’s just to listen in and be a ‘fly on the wall.’