I don't like career networking. This isn't because I can't see the point of it – I can and I am envious of those who have the confidence to "work" a room of unknown but useful contacts – but because I'm rubbish at it.
Don't get me wrong, it doesn't feel like a big deal to pick up the phone and talk to people I don't know for work, or go to a business lunch or coffee meeting with people I've never met. But when the word "networking" is attached to an event I'm nervous before I even get there.
I never quite know what to say, what lines in casual conversation can and can't be crossed, when to hand over my business card and who exactly I should be looking to speak to in the first place. If you happened to watch last night's episode of Ugly Betty you'll know exactly what I'm talking about (yes, I know it's an entirely fictional and often far fetched television series, but bear with me).
In yesterday's show, magazine assistant Betty was assigned the task of learning how to network and collect 40 new business contacts in a week in order to impress a steely editor running a training programme.
Forty new business contacts? In a week? Exactly. I wouldn't know where to start either. "Well, networking is one of those annoying things. But if you're serious about your career it's something you have to do … find somebody that's really good at superficial stuff and do what they do," was one piece of advice given to Betty. And then came along Betty's catty camp colleague/rival Marc who pointed out that networking is about "acting retardedly fake", but had developed a spot on strategy. "Step one: Forge a bond – your name, where you work and one memorable fact. Step two: Gathering information – to get info, you have to give info. Step three: The exit strategy – get in, get info, get out."
Meanwhile, young graduates are being advised to milk their contacts and network, network, network in order to get a foot in the career door. And a career consultant I recently interviewed told me that two-thirds of his clients have got jobs through networking.
"You need to meet all the people you might know who have a link, however tenuous, to the job you want to do. The aim is to end each networking meeting with the names and phone numbers of two more contacts. Take control, call them, and approach them in an information-gathering way," he said.
Yesterday, coincidentally, I was emailed an invitation to a London Young Professionals networking dinner. I deleted it straight away. Clearly, my strategy is all wrong. How about yours – are you a nervous wreck when it comes to networking, or do you have some useful tips for forging professional contacts?
