Interview Tips >Networking the Easy Way: Ask Your Friends
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Hooray! Networking!
People that are excited for networking don’t need advice on how to network. It comes natural. It’s like a second language to them. They had out business cards like it’s charity work and can introduce themselves to anyone like they’ve been BFFs for over a decade.
For everyone else, networking is difficult. It’s frustrating. It’s humbling. Most people don’t like networking. Yet if you are unemployed, networking accounts for over 50% of employment. It is unavoidable.
Finding a More Comfortable Way to Network
Going to events with networking time is not for everyone, nor is introducing yourself to strangers on the street or at social events. Luckily, there are other networking avenues. Perhaps the best one for you is to simply ask your friends and family for introductions.
Your friends and family have friends of their own, and they are likely to know people that work in your field. Utilize them. Ask your friends and family to simply introduce you to people they know that work in your field. Then, when you meet them, you have a connection that you can talk about so that it is not simply a blind introduction. You know about them, they know about you, and you both know the person that introduced you. Networking in this manner is far less painful, and you may even meet people that you grow to like, simply because your friends have good taste.
Networking is always going to be a little bit difficult for those that it does not come to naturally. Ask your friends to make some introductions for you, and hopefully you find that style of networking to be a little less painful.
Take Away Tips
- Your friends have friends.
- Ask your friends for introductions to people in the field.
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