growing and leveraging the power of personal connections

Anastasia Byler

Your Professional Network:Growing and Leveraging the Power of Personal Connections.

Theoretical

Considerations

• The importance of networks to the life of a career.

• What networking is, what networking is not.• Strategies for different personalities.

• What are the developmental features of a network?

Practical

Implications

•Ways to develop your network.• Diversify connections• Form triadic relationships•What not to do with your network.•What your résumé reveals about your network.

“If you ask a roomful of people how they got their jobs, 80 percent will say it was through some kind of referral.”

Ellen Gordon Reeves, author, consultant/ career coach at the Columbia Publishing Course

UNPUBLISHED JOB MARKET

What is networking?

Networking is about building strategic relationships that involve a win-win, reciprocal exchange of information, support, and/or referrals.

Nerve cell from the cerebellum

•Can have as many as 1000 dendrites per cell

•Tend to have highly complex functions

Bipolar nerve cell•Have only one or two dendrites

•Do not have complex functioning

•Can be highly specialized

At birth Age 3 Age 12 Age 20

How do you grow a strong network?

•Diversify Strategically

•Form Triadic Relationships

Strategically Diversify Connections

•Join professional associations•Volunteer with organizations•Join the McCombs Alumni Network• Positive feedback loop

•Participate in on-line networks•Take people out to lunch

Form Strategic Triadic Relationships

We know…leaders tend to make introductions between groups, and

this is a natural phenomenon known as ‘triadic closure’, from social network theory.

Therefore…bring clusters together to form a solid, more cohesive network where people will remember you as their connection.

Networking Don’ts•Don’t cast your net too wide.

•Don’t unplug from portions of your network.

•Don’t forget where you come from.

•Don’t be a ‘Cisco Fatty’.

“Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work.”

A lucky job applicant Tweeted the following message after receiving a job offer.

Cisco Fatty

The Tweet caught the attention of a channel partner advocate for Cisco, who responded with the following

“Who is the hiring manager. I’m sure they would love to know that you will hate the work. We here at Cisco are versed in the web.”

Oops!