Do you network?

[puglogic]

I'm an introvert (well, an ambivert actually) and every extravert I know tells me that I need to build a bigger social network by, well, networking. Mixers, committees, sit on boards, all that.

It's perfectly normal, but for some reason I hate the thought of it. I'm considering joining the local Chamber of Commerce, but most of the benefit would be in the networking opportunities. Which I probably will never talk myself into attending....it just isn't fun for me.

Do you network? Do you like it? If you don't, but you do it anyway, tell me how you find a way to like it?

[ApatheticNoMore]

No, I've heard you are supposed to network to get jobs, but except for once (and it was the worst job I've held too :\) it's never actually in reality how I've gotten jobs (want ads and job boards are). So I don't strongly see the need, and I certainly don't see the want :)

I suppose I could try to fit going to professional meetings in my field into my busy schedule if I wanted to network, I suppose that's how it's done (most of which aren't even local and I don't want a job further away than the one I already have). I am on email lists for such things.

[catherine]

I definitely should network more. In fact I was just looking at an industry conference I'll probably go to in March. I've been VERY lucky because I don't think I've needed to network. My clients are all existing returning clients and they keep me busy. But I can't put all my eggs in one basket.

And actually, as much as I love not having to be with people ad nauseum in my work, I do miss hanging out with my peers at times. I think I have to swing the pendulum the other way next year and get out of my comfort zone a little.

[fidgiegirl]

I do, and I thrive on it. I am still cooking up my own business, no laughing at me as some of you know this has been a long time in the works but I still have not thrown away the dream, and anyway, the newest iterations of the ideas have focused on how I can facilitate networking for others.

I am an extrovert all the way, and maybe that's part of it. So one thing I wonder is if online networking, such as through forums (like this one, but industry-focused or interest-focused), LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest and others might allow you to get your name out and interact with people but in a very controlled way - not all the pressures of the "face-to-face with strangers" scenario, but still interacting around your profession. Not sure if it would have the bang for the buck that the live, in-person networking would have, but it would be a start.

[Gardenarian]

I'm not really interested in meeting people, and I don't need to for any business reasons. I live in a small town and feel like I know most everybody anyway, though I make no effort to network.

Strangely, I do enjoy meeting and talking with people when I travel. Maybe it's because I know I'll never see them again.

I know that all humans are supposed to be social creatures; I just like to keep my social group very small. As in family, a couple friends, and dogs.

[SteveinMN]

I should do more of it than I do.

My problem is that I don't like to recommend that someone I know talks with someone else I know unless I believe both will get something out of it. That includes me. I never played the salesman's "Anyone else here who might be interested in our product?" unless I knew someone looking for just that item. I don't want to entertain salespeople making calls when they don't add value to what I'm doing; I don't want to do that to my colleagues and friends, either.

I have done very little with my LinkedIn account since I left work because I no longer feel I offer much IT value to some of the early members of my network. I'm just not in the business anymore. Yet I'm leery of LinkedIn's "endorsements". Friends have endorsed me for photography, which is very nice and should inspire confidence, but I can't see that it really means any more than they've seen my business Web site and like it and that, at least to them, I'm a straight-up guy. To me that's kind of like recommending someone for a job because they dress nicely. :( I don't know as it becomes any kind of "in" or edge when I'm speaking with someone about a photography job. And I don't feel comfortable endorsing a member of my network when I haven't worked with them for 10-20 years. Maybe that's just the way LinkedIn works.

I do much better on both the receiving end and the supporting end when I work in much smaller groups. It even can be informal, like a discussion at a wedding reception or a chance topic in a Web or email forum. But the large-scale schmoozing that results in hundreds of contacts? Just not me.

[JaneV2.0]

...

I know that all humans are supposed to be social creatures; I just like to keep my social group very small. As in family, a couple friends, and dogs.

If all humans are supposed to be social creatures, I guess I'm a mutant. (And there are so many of us!) I forced myself to network during my brief editing career. I joined the NRA? NWA? Some technical writing/editing association. It probably would have been OK, all in all, if the IT bust hadn't come along. But that kind of socializing really isn't my thing. Give it a try, but you may not need it.

[SOS]

I use LinkedIn a lot. Most of my jobs came through my network, so yeah, it is important to me.

[catherine]

I am very comfortable by myself, and I am not a natural networker by a long shot. However, I do enjoy interacting with people, and learning from them--when someone else initiates it.

However, being in the middle of a dry period work-wise, I'm starting to crave a little interaction, from the social perspective, but mainly from the perspective of having to rack up some business!!! So just yesterday I emailed two former colleagues and wound up with a lunch date next week and a ride down to attend an industry association event on Friday. The event looks interesting actually: it's a talk given by an expert in using meditation to open up creative pathways. So truthfully, I'm looking forward to it. Unfortunately, it comes with a lot of schmoozing and small talk with my peers--oh well, time to go dust off my business cards...

[redfox]

I love networking; it's one of my superpowers. I love connecting people to jobs, friends, dates, causes, organizations, boards, neighborhoods, etc. I am a high extrovert, so it feels natural for me. Many of my jobs & consulting clients come via networking. For me, networking is simply showing up in a room full of people and finding out who they are & what they love.

[catherine]

For me, networking is simply showing up in a room full of people and finding out who they are & what they love.

That's what I love about my market research career--but I guess, being somewhat shy, I feel I need "permission" to approach people without fear of rejection--so being a market researcher gives me exactly that!

I admire everyone who has your "superpower," redfox! My DH is one of them--he just instantly connects with everyone in his path. I've been with him when somehow he starts a conversation with a stranger in Home Depot and in 15 minutes they are telling him their life story and it all ends in a hug and sometimes even tears.. I'm always just amazed--and he is, too, frankly, at how much people open up to him. It is truly a gift you guys have!