How To Be A Networking Jedi At Events

Job Search, Networking

networking jediI am sure you have heard it before right; people tell you to go to events and just be nice to everyone and meet as many people as possible. Following this advice is sure to get you no where or worse, it’s as bad as dressing like someone else. In today’s job market it is a must for you to stamp your uniqueness on your skill set, especially at events. Over the course of the next few minutes we are going to explore deeper as to the how and why behind strategic networking at events.

 

Let’s rewind 2 years ago…

When I first broke into a whole new market, I knew no one and in a matter of months I had propelled into the center of this market as a leader. It was not because I am special but more so that everyone was so plain in the market that my personality and boldness just stood out and people gravitated towards that. I was not afraid to open up to people and let them in on what my goals and ambitions were, doing this allows others to rally behind you and empowers them to help you.

When you go to events you can use a few simple strategies to really get much further then others that show up just to collect business cards and hand shakes.

 

Have A Plan

have a planFirst off before you go have a plan as to what you want to get out of the event. Starting off with defining your desired outcome will allow you to work backwards through how you should prepare yourself for this event. You should also run through and polish your strengths within your trade or market and then strengths outside of your trade so its fresh in your mind. These are all things that will come up at one point and having clean crisp answers is best.

 

Starting Things Off Right

right footOne of the very first people you should go up to at the event is the event coordinator or the person who set this whole thing up. Spend time with them, get to know them and give them enough of your personality so they would know who to match you up with. Then ask them about whom you are looking for and who they think you would best get along with and share similar interests as you.

Examples:

John I know I am hogging all your time, quick question before you get back to it- Which CEO who is looking to hire a graphics designer do you think I would get along best with?

-OR-
John its been really great chatting with you. Before I go, out of all the physicists here who do you think would share my vision on parallel universes?

 

Finishing Strong

finish-strongThis conversation with the event coordinator should lead you right into the heart of what you want, that is conversation with like minded people that can help you get more of the things you want. Now that you have the first few people to talk to, use them to ask similar questions to keep moving around the room throughout the event. Make sure you spend enough time with each person/group for them to get a real good sense of who you are. What I really like about this is you can really dial in your persona as the day goes on and build meaningful relations with others that share similar passions with.

 

A Few Extra Tips

free-freetips-150x150A few tips to help keep you moving around while spending valuable time with others. When people excuse themselves to go to the bathroom etc, move onto the next one or go grab a drink, get fresh air. Also if you see a group conversation going on and you want to get in there, don’t just barge in but look for a good time to inject some life to the conversation and be included. Otherwise wait to grab them when they are coming to or from somewhere else.

 

Conclusion

This can be really fun if you just let go a bit, I have gone to events where I knew no one and left with handfuls of new relationships that have furthered my business time and time again. This is how you get things moving with your career and with your passions in life, going to events, leveraging some basic strategies to get what you ultimately want.

Jameson-BrandonJameson Brandon is a serial entrepreneur who is dedicated to peak performance to deliver his clients with extraordinary results . He is the founder of NettySoft.com- the wildly popular software company and co-founder of SocialShutl.com a Facebook app startup company. He regularly offers marketing & conversion insights to software companies who’s annual revenue is $10,000,000 to $50,000,000. His deeper passion however is working with entrepreneurs as he is very familiar with the bootstrapping techniques used to get a new company off the ground.

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