On Launching Your Career: Building Your Network

Who you know is as important as what you know.

Your professional network is the key to every job, role, and organization across the span of your career. Your network can open doors to new opportunities, provide sage advice and feedback for your continued development, endorse your impact and value to the projects and initiatives you accomplish, and add different perspectives as you progress through your career.

Understanding Professional Networks

The basis of a network is very simple: add, consume and share value with others who are mutually interested in adding, consuming, and sharing their own value. Yet the concept of building a network is often met with fear, awkwardness, and uncertainty. Why? Because it’s personal, even in a professional setting. Building and cultivating a great network is establishing and committing to a relationship with someone, which is an act of endorsement, engagement, and belonging. And the stronger the engagement, the stronger these bonds become.

A professional network is not:

• Transactional interactions – professional networks are built on mutual relationships

• One-time engagement – professional networks require persistent cultivation

• Spammy or creepy interactions – professional networks are not based on how many connections you have or alienating others within the network with low or no value activity

Building Your Professional Network

As you transition from the academic world into the professional world, set yourself up for success with a vibrant and diverse network. Starting out, your network may appear limited, but with the following advice, you will grow, evolve, and extend your network across your career journey.

Craft your professional brand elements

Take a professional photo, ensure you have appropriate contact information, and write out a short pitch about your professional background and aspirations. Document your relevant experience and provide this as part of your professional brand. Think through the type of engagement you want to share with the world – what are the common elements or themes to this engagement?  

• DO think through your personal brand as you create your networking profile. (Check out our section below on your personal brand for additional help!)

• DO focus on the information relevant to your career goals and aspirations as well as providing appropriate contact information to reach you.

• DO explain who you are, how you got to where you’re at, and where you want to go concisely – as a short pitch. This is extremely helpful context as you connect with those in your network.

Set up a networking profile for yourself

Most people are familiar with LinkedIn, but many other professional networking sites exist for specialized networks. Your networking profile should be professional in nature and focus on your career objectives, aspirations, and experience.

• DO set up your networking profile before attempting to connect with people. A great feature of networking platforms is the ability to harness and track connections in one spot. If you choose to use your own tracking system, be sure this is set up for long-term success. Capture names, roles, contact information, how you met, interests, and more.

Connect with people you already know

Think about who you’ve met and engaged with throughout your academic life, jobs or internships, and other groups or associations.

• DO focus on the people you enjoy talking with, people you trust, and people who would endorse or support you as you take your first steps into your career.

• DO send a quick personalized note to connect that briefly highlights your experience together, the value you’re bringing to this connection, and the desire to stay connected.

• DO meet face to face when possible; don’t rely on a digital connection.

• DO send a follow-up note after you’re connected to say thank you and determine the best way to stay in touch.

• DON’T connect with every person you meet; the quality of your network is more important than the quantity of connections.

Research connections outside your known network

This can be through second degree contacts with your current connections, or through areas of shared interests.

• DO consider who you want to know and target specific roles, functions, companies, organizations.

• DO research the size and quality of their network, the influence they have within a particular area of interest, and how they add value to their network.

• DON’T send a cold connection request without understanding who they are and how you can add value to their network.

Send networking requests to specific cold contacts

• DO focus on a targeted approach to cold connections – those who don’t know you – and limit the number of cold connections you add into your network.

• DO include your name, areas of common interest, and your personal pitch to describe why you and this contact should connect. (Remember: the value should be mutual!)

• DO include an ask of this contact beyond a simple connection, but be sure this ask isn’t burdensome. (We recommend asking for advice in a quick 1:1 meeting or meetup.)

• DON’T immediately sell yourself as part of a networking request. (Remember: the value should be mutual for both of you!)

• DON’T get discouraged if you don’t receive responses or receive declines to connect.

Meet with your new connections

Develop a few topics you’d like to discuss, make the request, and offer to meet either in-person or virtually, depending on the circumstances. Keep this meeting short – less than 30 minutes – and conversational in nature.

• DO discuss your motivation, what you want to learn from your new connection, and where you need help or advice

• DO make the meeting conversational – match their energy and enthusiasm and get into the flow of the conversation to demonstrate genuine authenticity

• DO send a thank you note after the meeting with any follow-ups or action items documented.

• DON’T be late, ever. Don’t reschedule the meeting unless your connection requests it.

• DON’T treat this conversation as a transaction – you are building a relationship with this connection.

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Engaging with Your Network

Welcome to your new network – but now what? Let’s return to our original definition: basis of is to add, consume and share value with others who are mutually interested in adding, consuming, and sharing their own value. What does this look like? Engagement with your network, grounded in the common interests across you and your network.

We can engage with our network in many ways, such as:

• Following, liking, and sharing on networking platforms

• Sending and responding to email

• Making and receiving phone calls

• Attending in-person events

• Arranging specific meetups

• Sending and receiving postal mail

Opportunities for engagement are endless…yet many people allow their network to go stagnant simply because they do not engage with the right content, in the right channel, at the right time, targeted at the right common interest, or with the appropriate amount of value.

Networks are a mutual relationship built on engagement and endorsement. This continual engagement is critical to keeping your network fresh, providing value to those in your network, and (importantly) keeping your connections up to date on who you are, what you’re doing, and where you want to accomplish next.

We call these “engagement cadences” – it is the mirroring of the appropriate time, place, content, and common interest that a connection wants based on the value you bring to the relationship. Not every connection in your network has the same priorities, interests or timing, so it’s important to tailor your cadence to meet their needs.

A few pointers on creating your engagement cadences:

• Original contributions are more valuable than a simple share of another person’s content. Adding commentary (not a summary) to an existing article boosts the perception of you as a committed original thinker.

• Liking and resharing content from your connections is more valuable as it endorses your connection and highlights the power and strength of your network.

• Timing is key: posting on LinkedIn more than three times a week can be detrimental, but posting daily (or more often) on X (Twitter) is expected.

• The closer a connection is to your personal self, the more engagement is necessary to keep them engaged with you. Find the balance to keep looser, more fragmented connections engaged without overwhelming your closer contacts.

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Crafting Your Professional Brand

In today's world, a digital presence is not just an extension of your resume—it's a fundamental component of your personal and professional identity. How you curate your digital footprint can significantly influence your career trajectory. Let's explore the what, why, and how of establishing an impactful online presence, and navigate through the nuances of networking platforms.

Creating a Digital Presence

A digital presence is essentially the sum of all the identities you've created and the interactions those identities have engaged in online. This can include profiles on social media platforms, personal blogs or websites, contributions to forums, and any other digital content that you create or that mentions your name. It's the digital persona that represents you in the online world.

In the business world, your online presence serves as an always-on advertisement of your professional capabilities, activities, and interests. A digital presence:

• Increases Visibility: a strong online presence makes you more visible to recruiters, potential employers, clients, and professional contacts.

• Showcases Your Skills: it allows you to highlight your achievements, projects, and skills beyond the confines of a resume.

• Facilitates Networking: online platforms provide opportunities to connect with industry leaders, peers, and mentors.

• Influences Perception: your online content can shape how you are perceived professionally, allowing you to control the narrative around your personal and professional identity.

A standout online presence is coherent, professional, and authentic. It might include:

Professional LinkedIn Profile: Detailed and up-to-date networking platform to showcase your experience, skills, and professional interests.

Personal Website or Portfolio: Especially relevant for those in creative fields, to display your portfolio of work samples and projects.

Active Social Media Accounts: Platforms like X (Twitter) and LinkedIn, where you engage with industry-relevant content and contribute to discussions.

Contributions to Professional Forums or Blogs: Sharing your expertise and engaging with your professional community.

Owning Your Digital Presence

As you transition into a professional role, your digital presence will be viewed through a different lens than during your younger years. In particular, new influential audiences will often look through your online profiles, including:

Recruiters and Hiring Managers to find, then vet potential candidates by evaluating their professionalism, skills, and fit for the company culture.

Potential Clients to research your digital footprint to assess your expertise and past projects.

Professional Contacts, such as peers and mentors to connect, share opportunities, and collaborate.

To prepare for these new audiences, take the time to review how you may be perceived:

• Is the content you’ve created, shared or engaged with consistent with who you are a professional? Remember that many online platforms track and show engagement activity, even on pages or profiles that aren’t yours.

• Are the internships, jobs, or other roles you’ve had relevant to the career path you’re choosing? If not, do these roles exemplify the qualities, ethics, or traits you wish to communicate publicly?

• Do you highlight specific achievements, both for yourself and for others?

• Is there a coherent and consistent narrative that you’re proud to share with others, even from a diverse perspective?

• Do you come up immediately in search results? Are you happy with the content that immediately pops up about you?

Remember: you own your digital presence. You can influence, edit, or change elements in your digital life – but it’s important to have self-awareness in doing so.

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Recommended Resources: Building Your Network

Establishing and curating a compelling network is a continuous process that requires insight, strategy, and resources. Want to dive deeper into this topic? We recommend:

Read

“Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion" by Gary Vaynerchuk

Offers insights on personal branding and how to use networking platforms to turn your passion into your career.

"Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen" by Donald Miller

While focused on branding for businesses, the principles can be applied to personal branding and clarifying your online persona.

Watch

TEDx: An Introvert’s Guide to Networking by Rick Turoczy

Rick explains that every person knows someone that someone else should know. That introverts can be comfortable with being uncomfortable by "collecting dots" and connecting dots only that willing individuals can see. If we are intentional on our own terms we can build community by making common sense, common.

TEDx: How to Hack Networking by David Burkus

What if all the advice we've heard about networking is wrong? What if it's not about meeting strangers but about getting a better understanding of the existing network that’s already around you? In this talk David Burkus, author of the book "Friend of a Friend", examines the science of how networks work and reveals what the best networkers really do.

Platforms

LinkedIn Learning: Offers courses on various aspects of professional development, including how to optimize your LinkedIn profile and use the platform for networking and job searching.

About.me: A personal web hosting service where you can create a simple yet effective personal landing page, ideal for linking to your social media profiles and professional portfolio.

Behance: Great for creatives wanting to showcase their work to the world. Offers inspiration and networking opportunities with other creatives.

Dribbble: A community of designers sharing screenshots of their work, process, and projects.

Squarespace: These platforms allow for more customization and are suited for creating more comprehensive personal websites and blogs.

Tools

Buffer: These tools allow you to schedule posts across different social media platforms, helping you maintain a consistent online presence without having to be online 24/7.

Canva: A user-friendly graphic design tool that can help you create professional-looking visuals for your social media profiles, website, or portfolio.

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