How to use networking to find the job of your dreams
Photo credit to www.aistesaulyte.co.uk
What comes to mind when you think of the term “networking”?
What are the sensations you feel ? A tightness and restriction in your body thinking about men in suits exchanging formally business cards and you feeling out of place ? Or do you feel expansive and excited about the possibility of meeting new people with whom to create connections ?
Networking it’s one of that words that can bring for many people a lot of negative connotations and held them back from connecting and opening up new opportunities for their career and after exchanging with a few people and clients their experiences and points of view, I decided to share my insights here with all of you.
My personal experience with the concept of networking
I have to admit that I’ve always had a pretty positive view of networking , I simply saw it as a way to build new relationships with people with whom I had an interest in common . I grew up in a relatively small city in which there weren’t so many opportunities to meet new inspiring people that I could learn from so I am very grateful that the internet existed to open up my eyes to incredible inspiring women doing cool things into the world.
Which by the way I only learned later on that they were my “expanders” , the women that were giving me an example of what was possible for me in life, because they had built the kind of lifestyle and career I was only dreaming of back then.
So when I moved into the big city to study I definitely enjoyed these opportunities and even if I’m definitely an introvert I’ve never been shy to reach out to experienced humans I admired in a very genuine way.
So this is to say that it’s all about mindset, all about how you perceive reality and you can decide to change your point of view around networking as well as a supportive mechanism for your career.
You can shift your view from an “inauthentic game that you’re obliged to go through when looking for a job” to “ an opportunity to connect authentically with other human beings “.
Masculine and feminine energy in networking
A great way to make the distinction it’s to filter it through the lenses of masculine and feminine energy, which i love!
The idea of pushing and striving to reach out to someone feels pressured for you but probably also for the receiver and it creates a dynamic that may not feel very natural, that’s the masculine taking over which is all about action, linear thinking , going from point A to B. It may look like chasing down someone exclusively for the interest of getting information and being hired for that job.
The feminine instead it’s in the flow, it’s all about collaboration and leaning back . It may look like enjoying an event in the city and ending up talking with someone that you have a natural connection with that you discover being in the same sector as you and naturally creating a relationship with them that may also end up in some guidance for your career.
Can you see the different energy and intention behind these two examples ?
When is it a good time for networking in your career transition?
A very important element in my opinion it’s paying attention to when networking it’s a good idea and when it’s not.
The first phase of a transition in my opinion it’s a stage of self-connection, of working on oneself to really figure out how you feel and what you want in the next chapter of your career. This is a phase of introspection to really connect with your intuition and it’s usually followed by a desire of going out there and experiment with new things.
I would let this initial phase as a way to informally meet people without any further plan and then start to build on these relationships when you have done your research and you have a clearer idea of what you’re looking for.
In this way after creating certainty within yourself you can discover how other people are living their job, how does their lifestyle looks like , their working hours, the pros and cons of their career etc.. and figure out how that fits with the idea you had in your mind.
This phase it’s so important because often we can create an image in our heads that differs from reality so it’s a great idea to talk to as many people as possible that are in the same arena as you will be sharing their experiences.
Which is very different from reaching out to people hoping that they give you the answer about what you should do with your career !
So overall to summarize this musing on networking :
What does your mind says about networking and how could you reframe your mindset ?
How can you tune into your feminine energy and make your everyday life an opportunity to create new relationships ?
Think about which phase of your transition you’re in and when and with whom you’d like to connect and make a list of 10 people to reach out to.
I hope that this reflection helped you to see networking as an empowering tool and something you can actually have lots of fun with !
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