Networking

The more networking you do, the more successful you will be. Since you want to be successful, you should network more. It is hard to make yourself smarter or better looking. However, anyone can network more.

My definition of “networking” is any conversation about professional topics you have with someone you don’t normally speak with. Zoom is better than a phone call. In-person is better than Zoom. Sharing coffee or, even better, a meal is best.

You should network with anyone who will speak with you. It is often just as useful to network with someone at your “level” — meaning with a similar title or years of experience — as with someone more senior. Networking with less experienced people is also, perhaps surprisingly, valuable. The more people you have professional contact with, the better. Of course, if you have a chance to speak with Elon Musk or Barak Obama, you should cancel your Zoom call with me. Yet almost no one does too much networking. Did you network with someone today? This week? This month? I doubt it.

Most networking starts with an unsolicited email. Make your email short. Example:

Mrs. Jones,

My name is David Kane, and I am data science teacher. I got your contact information from the Williams alumni directory. (I am class of 1988.) I see that you are the Head of the Math Department at the Fancy Pants school.

Do you have time for a cup of coffee to talk about your curriculum?

Regards,

David

The first sentence introduces yourself as concisely as possible. No one wants to read a paragraph about you. The second sentence explains your connection and/or how you got their contact information. (If you got their contact information by guessing, you can leave this out. If you got their email from someone else, you should mention that fact, and probably cc that person on the email.) The third sentence demonstrates that you have done a minimum of due diligence about them. Both the intro and the due diligence should touch on your (presumed) common areas of interest.

The last sentence is your “ask,” the specific thing you want from them. This is almost always a meeting of some kind. Obviously, you should only ask for an in-person meeting if that is logistically possible. Of course, you know (and they suspect) that you are actually interested in a job or a more substantive opportunity, but your “ask” is something simple.

The best people to network with are those who, first, are in the professional field in which you are interested and, second, are connected with you in some way. Alumni of schools you have attended are a great place to start.

When networking, especially with people more senior, you should listen more and talk less. First, you want to learn from them. That happens when they talk. Second, the more that they talk, the smarter they will think you are. If that seems paradoxical, then you need to learn more about human nature. I recommend talking no more than 10% of the time. Even if you are more senior than the person you are networking with, you should still speak less than 50% of the time.

Always send a thank-you note after the event, even if it is a simple phone call. First, politeness is a virtue. A brief email is fine. Second, this thank-you note is the next step in nurturing an on-going relationship with this person. You will probably want to talk with them sometime in the future. Third, if meeting with a senior/powerful person, consider sending a physical note. I can guarantee that they don’t get many of these and that doing so will make an impression on them.