Professional network or networking is about making connections that are mutually beneficial for the parties involved. It is a tool focused on interaction and maintaining professional relationships by attending business meetings, events, conferences, etc.
A professional network is usually some type of united community of people with similar business interests or education. This can take the form of an online community such as LinkedIn or Women for Hire. Or maybe even your local chamber of commerce.
What Is A Professional Network?
Professional networking is the process by which you expand your knowledge and skills by leveraging relationships with other professionals. The key word is “relationship”. The network is also a forum for promotion.
Think of networking simply as connecting with people, getting to know them, and letting them get to know you. Networking is about building and maintaining professional relationships.
If you’re just starting out, build your network with people you already know well, such as family and friends. As you progress, you’ll constantly expand your social circle by meeting people you know and meeting new people.
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Why Is Professional Networking Important?
The main advantage of professional communication is promotion. Networking can help you more easily discover opportunities; be it employment opportunities, sales opportunities or partnerships.
The more professionals you regularly communicate with, the wider your circle and the more promising opportunities.
Regular meetings with members of your professional network can help you stay on top of things and be first in line for opportunities that arise. We know that the labor market is constantly looking for the best talent and candidates for new vacancies.
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How Does Professional Networking Work?
Professional networking goes beyond the simple act of making connections in your industry, city, and company.
While building professional networks in your field may seem like the most simple and obvious approach (and of course it has its advantages), the most effective professionals will make connections where the obvious connection doesn’t initially appear.
Making connections when you “need” them can often be too obvious, inconsiderate, and can even seem desperate. Think about it, if your boss asks you to start working with professionals in the technology sector for the purpose of sales, it will be much easier to start doing so if you already have contacts in your address book.
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Top Professional Network Sites
Meetup
Meetup is a cool platform that lets you find (or create!) local meetups. When registering, you indicate your interests. Meetup will then notify you of any local meetups you may be interested in when they are created.
The meetings cover a wide range of topics, from professional topics to hobbies and everything in between.
If you don’t find one that interests you or fits your schedule, you can set one up and Meetup will notify everyone who has identified your topic as something they’re interested in. It’s a great way to bring like-minded people together locally.
Xing is a professional network similar to LinkedIn. Once registered, you can join groups of like-minded professionals to chat and share ideas. You can stay up-to-date on the latest news in your field and identify relevant seminars, conferences and exhibitions.
You can post jobs, search for jobs, and research companies. Xing is more common in Europe than the US, but is used by people in over 200 countries.
Bark
Bark is designed to connect local professionals with people seeking their services. Looking for professional help? You can reduce your search time by using Bark.
Bark will contact professionals in your area and provide estimates. Even more valuable, you can set up your own profile and be paired with potential clients who are looking for the services you offer.
Opportunity
Opportunity is a networking site that prides itself on “professional matchmaking.” It seeks to connect people according to their needs.
For example, users can be notified whenever someone in their target market indicates that they want what the user is offering.
Users can also receive notifications about relevant job opportunities. In addition, professionals can find other professionals based on their preferences (eg, age, gender, interests, personality).
Jobcase
Jobcase is quite unique in that it has been working on more than 100 popular job sites since 2009. Because of this, Jobcase has access to a wealth of data about open jobs and companies that are currently hiring for positions that may interest you.
Jobcase, you can create a profile and access a huge job database. Alternatively, you can join groups or browse the community to participate in discussions.
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Top Women Professional Network
The Women’s Chapter
The Women’s Chapter is a London-based women’s network and event platform for women of influence. The network supports women in business and the companies they founded. They host intimate events for industry leaders as well as larger events that cover topics relevant to all women.
There are three levels of membership. Community membership is free and gives you access to inspiring events. Business memberships are for female business owners and senior career women, and they also have corporate memberships for organizations.
DrivenWoman
DrivenWoman is the perfect place for ambitious women who want to take action to achieve their goals and dreams. This is a powerful community of women who are interested in personal growth and success in all areas of their lives, not just their careers.
Women join the network to achieve their personal goals and stay to grow with other like-minded women. The focus is on figuring out what your “big life” really looks like and taking consistent steps to make it happen. It’s like joining the gym, if you keep showing up, you’ll soon see great progress and results.
Purpose Girls
Purpose Girls is a free Facebook group based on the science of women’s happiness, positive psychology, and infused with the feminine essence. Its founder, Caryn Rokind, is a positive psychology coach who frequently hosts webinars for DrivenWoman members.
Caryn brings her incredible energy to the group, creating a safe environment to empower, encourage and embrace one another. Expect inspiration, great mood and celebration of your victories.
Albright
Founded in 2018 as a membership club in central London, Albright has become one of the leading global communities for advancing women’s careers.
The Women’s Network aims to connect smart-thinking women across digital and physical spaces, driving change for women in business. Albright Academy offers courses and tools on many topics, including leadership, career hacks, and financial fitness.
Women Who Start Up
A US-based learning platform for a global community of female entrepreneurs and innovators. Women Who Startup provides a network, platform, multiple sources of collaboration and fast-paced learning for female entrepreneurs and innovators seeking to build successful companies.
Their annual virtual workshop, the Women Who Startup Rally, features successful female founders.
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Top Black Professional Network
National Alliance of Black School Educators
Established in 1970, NABSE is dedicated to improving both the educational experience and achievement of African-American youth by developing and using instructional and motivational methods that increase inspiration, attendance and overall achievement.
National Association of Black Male Educators
NABME’s mission is to increase the number of responsible black male educators who are successful professionally and positively impacting their communities.
The organization provides a wide range of services, including: development of interest and awareness of high school students and students in the field of education, training and professional development of teachers of black origin and representatives of minorities, influence and contribution to educational policy, promotion of professional advancement of black teachers and minority men.
Black Culinarian Alliance
BCAGlobal empowers people of color across cultures through education, training and mentoring through a mindful approach to food combined with hands-on skills in the hospitality and culinary industries, leading to meaningful connections that help shape the vision of a beloved community” .
Black founders
Black Founders was founded in 2011 as an organization to empower entrepreneurs and provide founders with access to advice, mentorship and funding.
Founders’ mission is to increase the number of successful black entrepreneurs in technology. The goal is to create an ecosystem that stimulates technological entrepreneurship and contributes to the economic growth of society.
The Hidden Genius Project was founded in 2012 by five black male entrepreneurs/technologists who were dismayed by the dramatic juxtaposition between high black youth unemployment and the abundance of career opportunities in the local tech sector.
To overcome this challenge, the founders created a program to connect young black men with the skills, mentors and experiences they need to become high-performing entrepreneurs and technologists in the 21st century global economy.”
Conclusion
Professional networking is much more focused on what each person does, their industry, who they know and where they are going. The old adage “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” certainly applies in the context of professional communication.
And with the advent of the Internet, working online has become much easier! With the click of a button and a search window, we can find like-minded professionals in our city, industry, company, and more. Professional networks such as LinkedIn are great for helping us track down equivalent professionals in our positions at different companies.
Networking, which is conducted “offline”, is often carried out at seminars, conferences, buffets and even in the offices of large companies. Networking is not about making connections in the big world. An internal network, in large companies, can sometimes be just as useful, if not more so.
References
- pushfar.com – Professional Networking
- driven-woman.com – THE 20 BEST WOMEN’S NETWORKS TO HELP YOU ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS
Professional Network FAQs
Who Should You Include In Your Professional Network?
In order to make their network relevant, they need to make sure they are targeting the right group of people. Below are some suggestions for establishing a professional relationship;
- Friends
No need to worry about how to act in front of your friends. Friends from different walks of life or careers can be useful for networking.
- Classmates
Finding a professional connection with a classmate can be easy for both parties involved because they know each other’s potential. Later, it can be used for career growth and vice versa.
- Professors
Professors are experienced people with extensive experience and connections. Having a good relationship with your teachers since college will pay off later.
What is Nodal Networks?
This type of professional networking is also known as “street networking,” which involves understanding not only the types of contacts in your network, but also what people can do for your career in a given scenario. In other words, knowing who to contact when looking for a job. The word “nodal” itself means a point in a system or network where different paths cross or branch off.
Where Can You Network?
While there are events specifically designed for networking, you can chat at the grocery store or sitting in the doctor’s office. You can network in both formal and informal settings, in person or online.
For online professional networks, LinkedIn and Twitter are two social networks where professionals regularly engage in discussions. On LinkedIn, participate in group discussions, post professional information, and comment on other people’s posts. Twitter makes it easy to connect with others. You can tweet to anyone, retweet and comment on people’s posts, and participate in Twitter chats.
