With more than 1,000,000 college degrees granted annually, competition for jobs is great. Of course, that only takes into account newly minted graduates looking to launch their careers. Millions of other professionals already on a career path are looking to move upward to higher positions or on to new opportunities. Networking serves two important roles in building a personal brand to compete in the job market. First, one’s network of contacts can be tapped to acquire more knowledge that enhances skills. Second, a professional network is a communication channel that can be used to meet people, share information, and pursue business opportunities.
Different Approaches to Networking
Perceptions of networking differ among professionals. Some people network relationally, focusing on quality of the interface. Other people network on a transactional scale, valuing the result. Relational networking and relationship marketing share key characteristics. Mirroring relationship marketing, networking includes distinctions of trust, cyclical education, ongoing relationships, maintenance, and a continuous dialog. In contrast, transactional marketing measures a goal by using an object of importance. Furthermore, these transactions are usually discrete with little to no future interdependence.
What is Networking?
It is one thing to espouse the importance of building a network of professional contacts to future business professionals; it is another for them to have a good grasp on exactly what it is you are advocating that they do. So, to assess students’ understanding of professional networking, I have collected data from students enrolled in an undergraduate sports marketing course over the past several semesters. Data have been collected from 151 students so far in this ongoing study. I focused data collection on students studying sports marketing because building a network of professional contacts is vital to establishing a personal brand in sport business and standing out in a highly competitive market.
Data were collected on students’ perceptions of networking by simply asking them to complete the sentence “Networking is…” Definitions were analyzed using content analysis to look for themes or common notions about professional networking. Students’ concept of professional networking as reflected in their definitions reveals a disproportionate emphasis on shallow engagement with others, falling under a category labeled “connections.” A total of 113 students (75%) defined networking as pertaining to building connections with other people. Relationship building was the theme with the next highest frequency of mentions as 45 students (30%) included a reference to relationships in their definitions of professional networking. Two other themes, learning and sharing, received few mentions as elements of networking (5% and 3%, respectively).
Bridging the Gap between Actual and Ideal
Perhaps the findings that perceptions of networking relate to “making connections” is understandable. After all, what is LinkedIn’s label for networking? Connections. Quantified connections, whether it be on LinkedIn, Twitter, or the number of business cards collected at an event are used as proxies for networking ability. This “notches on a belt” approach to networking is troubling in that it is reduced to little more than a game of how many connections can be made (quantity) rather than a focus on providing mutual benefit to someone in your network (quality).
My favorite definition of professional networking is simple: “Building good relationships.” When we build good relationships, we help others become successful and help them however we can (e.g., make an introduction or write a letter of recommendation). But, you have to make “deposits” in the networking bank with your connections so that when you need to make a withdrawl (i.e., ask a favor), you have available goodwill upon which to draw.
Your Turn
What is your definition of professional networking? And, if you believe that you need to become better at networking, what obstacles or weaknesses are keeping you from being more effective?
Image Credit: flickr.com/baggyjumper, Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0
