Deb, this is great advice for someone early in their career, but what about people with young kids at home?
On one hand, there is a networking event, where you may or may not make a connection - on another hand there is a human being who desperately needs you home... Will one ever outweigh the other?
My manager hosted a happy hour and very few people from my team showed up. He asked me why. So I asked them. They said they had to all take the early bus (between 4:30 and 5) to make it back to pick up their kids. This was when my son went to daycare sponsored by my husband's workplace so I could stay later.
I asked my manager to move our happy hours to core office hours. He agreed. They started attending.
While this is not always possible at every workplace, it is best practice to be inclusive of people who can't always do things after hours due to obligations.
Thank you, Deb, for sharing this insight. When I work with students, I emphasize that professionalism is mostly building relationships. It's an easy jump to see how the effort you put in while being professional can be a starting point for building a network that isn't based on cold calls and awkward conversations.
So many students and young professionals forget all the people in their base network (friends, family, classmates, and instructors), and through that neglect they make it so much harder to expand.
Great Writeup Deb! For someone new to bay area (having moved from India), what is the advice you would give on how to reach out for genuinely networking ?
I used to treat networking and politics as “work that doesn’t add value”. It’s somewhat true if you’re a one man show. However, leadership is about enabling others, and that is where building connections has incredible value.
Thank you for your incredibly insightful article. I really like your shift from viewing networking as a "necessary evil" to an opportunity to build real connections and community. I, too, have struggled and still struggle with the transactional feel of traditional networking, and your reframing offers a refreshing and authentic approach. The examples of building peacetime relationships and the importance of backchannel references powerfully illustrate how genuine connection truly matters. This piece has inspired me to approach interactions with a renewed focus on service and authentic engagement. Again thanks a lot.
Thank you so much, Deb! Great, wonderful insights! I love reading all your perspectives, and it always touches me and reaches me at the right time with the information I need. Loved it!
Connecting and community building are so much more appealing than networking. And, in a way, they're the same thing.
I really loved this! Thank you for your insight and encouragement!
Deb, this is great advice for someone early in their career, but what about people with young kids at home?
On one hand, there is a networking event, where you may or may not make a connection - on another hand there is a human being who desperately needs you home... Will one ever outweigh the other?
My manager hosted a happy hour and very few people from my team showed up. He asked me why. So I asked them. They said they had to all take the early bus (between 4:30 and 5) to make it back to pick up their kids. This was when my son went to daycare sponsored by my husband's workplace so I could stay later.
I asked my manager to move our happy hours to core office hours. He agreed. They started attending.
While this is not always possible at every workplace, it is best practice to be inclusive of people who can't always do things after hours due to obligations.
Great initiative. I prefer to do team lunches rather than team dinners for the same reason :)
Great idea! More workplaces should do that
Thank you, Deb, for sharing this insight. When I work with students, I emphasize that professionalism is mostly building relationships. It's an easy jump to see how the effort you put in while being professional can be a starting point for building a network that isn't based on cold calls and awkward conversations.
So many students and young professionals forget all the people in their base network (friends, family, classmates, and instructors), and through that neglect they make it so much harder to expand.
I agree. I don't think every connection has to be a professional one. Some of my most valuable connections are friends or classmates.
Great Writeup Deb! For someone new to bay area (having moved from India), what is the advice you would give on how to reach out for genuinely networking ?
I used to treat networking and politics as “work that doesn’t add value”. It’s somewhat true if you’re a one man show. However, leadership is about enabling others, and that is where building connections has incredible value.
Thank you for your incredibly insightful article. I really like your shift from viewing networking as a "necessary evil" to an opportunity to build real connections and community. I, too, have struggled and still struggle with the transactional feel of traditional networking, and your reframing offers a refreshing and authentic approach. The examples of building peacetime relationships and the importance of backchannel references powerfully illustrate how genuine connection truly matters. This piece has inspired me to approach interactions with a renewed focus on service and authentic engagement. Again thanks a lot.
Thank you so much, Deb! Great, wonderful insights! I love reading all your perspectives, and it always touches me and reaches me at the right time with the information I need. Loved it!
Glad it was helpful!