Written by Jaydah Jacobs
Finding the right job or internship can be stressful. Especially when you’re searching for specific business opportunities. You may have made numerous attempts to at least get an interview. But you just haven’t seen the results you’re looking for.
Ask yourself one simple question: have I been networking? That may seem odd, but honestly, think about it. Have you been the person who submits an application, makes a few calls and then waits for a response? Or are you the person who goes to networking seminars/events and connects with the right people? If networking never even crossed your mind when looking for business opportunities, then you’ve been doing it all wrong.
THE RIGHT APPROACH?
Networking is more than simply selling yourself to other people in hopes that they remember you by the end of the conversation. Approaching it that way can actually end up turning people off. So to start it off networking to sell yourself is only selling yourself short.
Instead, use networking to connect with important people and build long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with them. Approaching networking this way will open up so many doors when it comes to new business opportunities. You’ll probably wonder how you ever went without it.
HOW DOES NETWORKING BRING NEW BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES?
On a daily basis, businesses receive emails, sales, offers and calls that tend to cause a lot of clutter. Most of the time they’d prefer to put a face to the applications and emails that they receive. You want to be that face. This means that you are the person that stands out when they’re looking to hire someone. If you stand out it’s because you asked the right questions when you connected with them and you were engaging. However, it’s even more important to follow up after meeting them.
Keeping in contact can really set you apart from everyone else. It’s a part of building networking relationships that keeps you at the forefront of people’s minds. This usually helps you get your foot in the door.
If you’re ready to stop waiting around for a callback and you want to connect, then here’s a list of the top 10 business networking groups.