Networking Skills to Advance Your Career

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00:00:12.25 Hello, my name is Monica Feliu-Mojer
00:00:15.19 and I am a program manager with iBiology
00:00:18.17 and the vice director of Ciencia Puerto Rico.
00:00:21.03 And today, I'm going to talk about how to network
00:00:23.26 effectively to help you build connections
00:00:25.28 to advance your career.
00:00:27.28 So what is networking?
00:00:30.09 You may think that networking is
00:00:32.19 all about meeting a bunch of people
00:00:34.20 and collecting a bunch of business cards,
00:00:36.25 but that's not the reality.
00:00:38.17 Networking is about building meaningful
00:00:41.10 connections. It's about building relationships
00:00:44.18 that can help advance your career and
00:00:47.06 for your professional success.
00:00:49.06 According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor
00:00:52.13 Statistics, about 70% of all jobs
00:00:55.09 are found through networking.
00:00:57.21 So, being able to network effectively is pretty
00:01:01.15 important for your next career move.
00:01:03.29 Networking is not just important for finding
00:01:07.22 a job, but also for finding mentors,
00:01:10.00 advisors, sponsors, potential collaborators,
00:01:13.16 and also for other career opportunities like
00:01:16.11 speaking engagements, workshops, courses, et cetera.
00:01:21.09 So something that is really important
00:01:24.08 for you to network effectively is to have
00:01:26.18 an elevator pitch. Maybe you've heard about the elevator
00:01:29.22 pitch. And what this is is a short statement
00:01:32.23 about 30-60 seconds that you can tell somebody
00:01:36.07 literally while you're riding an elevator.
00:01:38.11 And there are three big questions that
00:01:41.22 you answer when you're crafting an elevator pitch.
00:01:45.12 Or you should be thinking about when you're crafting
00:01:47.23 your elevator pitch. Who are you?
00:01:49.19 What do you do? And what is your goal?
00:01:51.27 And "who are you?" and "what do you do?" is not just
00:01:54.19 about saying your name and your role
00:01:57.12 and what institution you're in, but really
00:02:00.03 it's about what makes you unique.
00:02:02.07 How do you bring value to a company,
00:02:04.20 to an institution, to a group?
00:02:07.23 And then your goal should not just be
00:02:09.24 I want to find a job, or I want to find somebody
00:02:13.28 who is doing -- I don't know, experiments
00:02:16.23 in neuroscience. You want to be specific.
00:02:18.26 You want to be as specific as possible.
00:02:21.19 So that the person that you're talking to can
00:02:23.27 help you out. Something that is really important
00:02:28.00 to think about when you're crafting your elevator
00:02:30.17 pitch, is to eliminate jargon.
00:02:33.05 You want to keep it simple, you want
00:02:35.05 it to be accessible to someone who's
00:02:37.25 not a specialist, because probably most people
00:02:41.19 that you're going to talk to are not going to be
00:02:43.18 in your field, or they're not even going to be
00:02:45.20 a scientist. So it's really important
00:02:48.07 that you think about an elevator pitch
00:02:50.16 that is jargon-free. Also think about who you're talking
00:02:53.23 to. The elevator pitch is not just about
00:02:56.23 you and who you are and what your goal is,
00:02:59.08 but really it's who you're talking to.
00:03:01.25 You need to think about who you're talking to
00:03:04.05 because you're going to have to change what you say
00:03:06.07 depending on who you're talking to.
00:03:07.21 You know, what do they do?
00:03:09.02 Where are they based? That is something that
00:03:12.10 is really important to think about when you're doing
00:03:15.12 an elevator pitch. Also critical is that you practice.
00:03:18.22 Practice in front of a mirror, with your friends,
00:03:22.02 with your colleagues. You need to know what
00:03:24.11 you want to say, because you're trying to get
00:03:27.10 all of this information in a short amount
00:03:29.14 of time, so you don't need to have a script
00:03:32.05 that you're just going to spill out, but
00:03:34.18 really, you need to know exactly what you
00:03:37.05 want to say. What are the key messages
00:03:38.21 that you want people to take away
00:03:40.11 when they talk to you.
00:03:41.26 Some practical strategies for networking.
00:03:44.29 It's really important that you are yourself.
00:03:47.20 You want to build a connection with
00:03:49.13 someone else, so you want to be authentic.
00:03:51.23 You want to be genuine.
00:03:53.22 Also, you want to be prepared, as I said.
00:03:56.21 You need to have an elevator pitch ready,
00:03:59.06 you need to practice, so you need to be
00:04:01.29 ready when you're going to an event. Know
00:04:04.25 what you want to say, maybe know what kind of person
00:04:07.00 you want to talk to. Something important
00:04:09.19 and part of being ready is having business cards.
00:04:11.28 So a business card is not just a way to give
00:04:14.07 people your contact information, but it's also
00:04:17.04 a way for people to remember you and for you
00:04:20.16 to remember people. Something that you can do, for example,
00:04:23.16 when you're at an event is write on the back of
00:04:25.23 a card. Where did you meet this person?
00:04:27.26 What was memorable about them?
00:04:29.11 So that when you follow up with them, with an
00:04:32.22 email or maybe a phone call, you will know
00:04:35.09 what exactly to refer to, so that they know
00:04:38.15 where they met you and what exactly
00:04:40.25 do you want. Also it's important to be
00:04:44.00 reciprocal. Networking and relationships
00:04:46.21 in general, it's not just about one person but
00:04:49.10 it's about the two of you. So it's important that when you
00:04:52.22 are talking to people, listen to them.
00:04:54.24 Think about how you can help them,
00:04:57.09 not just how they can help you.
00:04:58.25 You have to know your style. Some people
00:05:02.07 think that networking is just for extroverts,
00:05:04.21 that is not true. Networking is for everybody.
00:05:08.04 So if you are an introvert and you
00:05:10.08 know that, then that's important because that
00:05:13.02 is going to help you think about strategies
00:05:15.20 that can help you networking -- you know, if you're at
00:05:18.02 a conference, then you don't want to talk to a bunch
00:05:21.03 of people. But you need to know what your style is
00:05:23.27 so that you can network efficiently.
00:05:26.12 Also, you need to think about how to be memorable.
00:05:29.03 You know, if you're at an event, you meet a lot of people.
00:05:33.02 And so, how are you going to make sure
00:05:35.21 that that person who can get you the next
00:05:38.11 job, how are you going to make sure that
00:05:39.29 they remember you? It could be your name,
00:05:42.19 it could be the context, it could be something
00:05:44.17 that you say. But you have to think about
00:05:46.18 how to be memorable.
00:05:47.24 And again, you need to have a plan.
00:05:49.21 You need to have a -- you need to be ready,
00:05:53.09 you need to be prepared, and so if you're going to
00:05:56.01 an event, you know, find out who's
00:05:58.11 going to be there. Maybe email them ahead of
00:06:00.23 time and say we're going to be at this
00:06:02.18 event, let's have lunch, I would like to talk
00:06:04.28 to you. Something about networking, it's not
00:06:09.21 just about building relationships, but really building
00:06:12.13 this group of people. You want to build
00:06:15.01 this network. A healthy network that you can reach
00:06:18.06 out to when you need help. And so a network
00:06:21.28 is not just about who you know, but who
00:06:25.02 you want to know. So who's in your network?
00:06:28.17 There are different types of people in your network,
00:06:30.14 some are your immediate contacts, the people
00:06:33.03 you work with, your advisor, people in your lab.
00:06:35.23 There are also contacts in your community,
00:06:38.20 so people in your field or at your institution.
00:06:41.23 Your network also contains non-professional
00:06:45.15 contacts, so people that maybe that you know
00:06:48.10 socially from your community, from your church.
00:06:51.28 So it's people that you know outside of work context,
00:06:55.11 but just because you don't work with them or know them
00:06:57.26 professionally, that doesn't mean that they can't
00:06:59.28 help you. And then there's also secondary
00:07:02.14 contacts. So they're the friends of your friends,
00:07:04.15 or the colleagues of your colleagues.
00:07:06.20 People that you maybe don't know in person,
00:07:09.16 but that you could reach out to
00:07:11.21 through who you know in your network.
00:07:13.26 And so asking the people that you
00:07:16.24 know, it's really important -- it's a keyway
00:07:20.11 to help you build up your network. To find the
00:07:23.22 people that you need to help you out.
00:07:26.07 Joining professional societies is another great
00:07:29.23 strategy to build and expand your network
00:07:32.23 because there are people who have similar
00:07:34.28 interests, that know about resources in your field,
00:07:40.02 and that can help you out. Of course,
00:07:41.29 attending events, conferences, talks, and so on.
00:07:45.21 That's a great way to meet people. Another
00:07:49.01 great way to meet people is to invite them to give
00:07:51.13 a talk at your institution. You know, maybe there's
00:07:54.27 a researcher whose work you admire, and maybe
00:07:57.14 you're looking at their lab for a postdoc.
00:08:00.00 So invite them over. Invite them to give
00:08:02.22 a talk at your school. That is a great way
00:08:04.25 to connect with them. Another great way
00:08:07.09 to expand your network, particularly
00:08:09.06 beyond your field of expertise is to volunteer.
00:08:12.18 So if you, say you want to go into a non-academic career,
00:08:16.26 volunteering is a great way to meet people that
00:08:20.24 are doing careers that you're interested in
00:08:23.02 besides developing some really important skills.
00:08:26.21 Let's talk about networking online a little bit.
00:08:31.03 There are lots of platforms out there you can use
00:08:34.15 to connect with people, which whom you can follow up
00:08:37.22 to then meet face to face. But right now
00:08:40.18 in a connected world, it's really important for you to have
00:08:44.24 an online professional presence to network.
00:08:50.16 So when you're thinking about networking online,
00:08:52.24 which platforms do you want to use?
00:08:55.07 Which are the pros and cons of each of these
00:08:58.08 platforms? How are they used in your field?
00:09:00.11 How are they used by your colleagues?
00:09:03.07 What are the rules of engagement?
00:09:05.24 Each platform has its unique advantages,
00:09:09.17 so when you're thinking about networking online, it is
00:09:12.20 important that you consider those.
00:09:14.13 So email is probably the most commonly
00:09:17.18 used networking online networking tool.
00:09:20.20 When you follow up with people after meeting them,
00:09:23.09 you'll probably send them an email.
00:09:24.29 When somebody's introducing you
00:09:26.28 to a person that you don't know, they'll probably
00:09:29.13 connect you through email. So it's really, really
00:09:31.28 important that you learn how to use email
00:09:34.24 effectively to establish those connections.
00:09:37.20 Another commonly used tool is LinkedIn.
00:09:40.17 LinkedIn was built as a professional networking
00:09:43.05 tool, so a lot of the features -- you know, you can basically
00:09:47.03 put an online resume up on LinkedIn, it's a way
00:09:51.01 to connect with people, to look at jobs.
00:09:53.17 So obviously, LinkedIn is very different from
00:09:56.09 email, and it's important to know how you could use
00:09:58.23 it differently from other platforms and
00:10:01.26 to your advantage. And finally, there's Twitter.
00:10:04.02 I think a lot of people don't think about Twitter
00:10:06.05 as a professional networking tool, but it really
00:10:08.28 is. Twitter is fast-paced, there's a lot of information
00:10:13.17 out there, but it's a really great way to connect
00:10:16.27 with specific communities. With your niche
00:10:20.20 communities, to connect with other experts,
00:10:22.26 and to put yourself out there as an expert.
00:10:25.28 So I would invite you to look at Twitter
00:10:28.16 and how you could use it as a professional
00:10:30.22 development tool. And so just to summarize,
00:10:33.17 networking is really key to your professional
00:10:38.02 success. So it is really, really important
00:10:40.23 that you know how to do it effectively
00:10:43.17 so that you can build those solid connections
00:10:46.28 that could help you climb up the professional
00:10:49.14 ladder. It's important to be prepared
00:10:52.13 when you're networking. Have your elevator
00:10:55.06 pitch ready. Know what your goals are.
00:10:58.26 Know who you want to connect with.
00:11:01.08 Know who's in your network. And know who
00:11:03.21 you want to bring into your network.
00:11:06.04 And finally, it is really, really important
00:11:08.04 that you practice. Networking doesn't come
00:11:12.05 natural to most of us, so it is important that you
00:11:15.21 just take the plunge. Go do it. Practice
00:11:18.22 your elevator pitch with people. Put yourself
00:11:21.10 out there at meetings and events.
00:11:23.18 Put yourself out there online, and
00:11:26.12 just network. Thank you.

This Talk

Speaker: Mónica Feliú-Mójer

Audience:

General Public
Educators of H. School / Intro Undergrad
Student
Educators of Adv. Undergrad / Grad
Researcher
Educators

Recorded: May 2016

Talk Overview

Networking skills are crucial for your professional success. But, what is networking? How do you go about developing effective networking skills? In this video, Feliú-Mójer discusses how networking is not about collecting business cards, but about building meaningful connections and relationships. She offers practical strategies to build effective networking skills and for building a strong network of contacts. Feliú-Mójer also gives an overview of how you can leverage online platforms to network and advance your career.

Speaker Bio

Mónica Feliú-Mójer

Dr. Mónica Feliú-Mójer grew up in rural Puerto Rico, surrounded by nature and with a cow in her backyard, which sparked her interest in all things biology. A scientist-turned-communicator, she leverages online technologies to make science and scientists accessible to all. Mónica has a bachelor’s degree in Human Biology from the University of Puerto Rico… Continue Reading