www.lifehack.org: Networking has been around for a very long time. From the early days of the Royal Society in the late 1600s when gentlemen gathered together to share scientific discoveries and make connections with like-minded people, to today where people connect to advance careers and share knowledge and career advice. It has been a way for humans to learn, discover and advance for hundreds of years.
10 comments:
I always thought of networking as a way to propel oneself forward, but this article allowed me to think differently. It caused me to consider what I am giving, rather than just receiving, when making a connection. Sharing your knowledge, ideas, and insight can show how invested you are in your career. In theatre, staying updated on the entertainment industry (thank you newspage comments!) is essential because of how quickly technology changes. Being knowledgeable about new works and playwrights can also be very beneficial. I also found it helpful that this article was so geared towards the digital age, based on its emphasis on social media and blogging. My generation is so adept at communicating online that one must be online, especially when keeping in touch with colleagues after graduation. Yet while it is useful, one must be careful how they present themselves online. This article points out how any political post can be dangerous, even if you believe many people share the same view. I do believe that you should be free to post what you choose, but I do see the point that someone could possibly get offended, which could ultimately infringe upon a connection.
I think this article provides some great tips that make the complicated process of Networking seem simple. I like how these tips are more focused on actions you can do and not ways to present yourself to others. One tip that I think is really important in the entertainment industry is to never burn bridges. As we all know, the entertainment industry is a small world so if you burn a with one person, you might not realized that you area actually burning a bridge with five other people as well. In the article it also mentioned that keeping bridges with people not in your immediate business is also helpful because you never know when you will need their expertise. I also think it's interesting how much social media and an online presence in general is important to networking in this day and age. Overall, I think this article put together some important tips in a simple way.
Given that this article (I would assume) is geared toward fairly early career people who are first figuring out networking “become known as an expert in your field” seems like a pretty lofty goal, and by the time you do that you’ve probably already figured out how to network. Other than that, the vast majority of this advice boils down to “be nice to people and stay in touch.” The thing that always bugs me about the idea of networking is that the way it is presented it often feels like a bit of a con. It often is talked about like you are strategically emailing people and setting up phone calls with an end goal of getting them to do something for you, which just seems gross to me. I think approaching networking as just getting to know people and trying to share ideas and be helpful seems a lot less manipulative and a lot more natural.
In the theatre industry it is a very known saying that its not just how talented you are but who you know. Networking is a very hard skill and sadly a lot of jobs are given out just based on who you know. I got to be the SM intern on the Broadway-Bound workshop of Bettlejuice because a friend texted me and asked if I was interested. I think this article gave some really great points on networking. I think one of the more important themes is to never burn your bridges. I think this is extremely important as you will never know when you will have to work with someone again. I think a good rule of thumb is just to be as nice as possible and be a fun person to hang around. More people would be inclined to work with you and give you jobs if you are nice and friendly.
Networking is something that everyone will have to do at some point in their lives. Whether you are doing subconsciously or not, you will have to network. It’s difficult to network because I don’t know what to say. Often times, nerves and stress about not wanting to fail hinder us from networking or even just having a normal conversation. I think this article is a really unique one. I have never read an article on how to network. Of course, there are articles online that get their information from questionable place. But his article is a first hand how to on what the major steps and key po9int are when networking. It helps to know that the person writing this article is someone who is giving personal tips and guiding from their own experience. It also made me feel more relaxed about networking because it something that I am nervous about and definitely not advanced in but this article helped me map out what is important.
I think the best advice I’m getting out of this article is about using social media wisely among many other great lessons. Social media is a great medium for networking. The groups I am in can be useful in learning about new trend or in connecting with people who seems to be an expert in the topic. However, having been on Facebook, Instagram and other kinds of social media for a long time, I realized that a big chunk of my day is getting wasted just by scrolling down meaningless and valueless videos and photos on them. I took about a month of abstinence but realized as I came back to school that going completely off really is not possible because I would be missing out many useful opportunities and announcement in networking and everything else. So I was in the process of figuring out how to wisely use the medium. Setting aside a time in a day to catch up could be the solution that I needed.
I gravitated towards this article because I am very bad when it comes to networking. I have found it difficult to start the process and keep it going, so this article helped me understand the idea behind it. It was very interesting to learn that the whole purpose of networking is to give and receive which when I think about it is the same with every relationship we find ourselves in. Giving while receiving at the same time makes one better. I found the tips that were listed in this article helpful. I also love the fact that he mentioned making use of social media as a way to network. In today’s world, social media is a very important tool since everyone is into the social media craze. Another tip that stood out to me was “always making time for other people”. We should not expect what we can’t give. I understand that we are all busy individuals but it is very important that we create time and space on our busy schedule to keep the connections that we have.
I agree with the sentiment that networking is just about giving than it is receiving. The article says, "The mistake is to think of networking as a way to receive; when in reality, if you want to get the most out of networking, giving and sharing your knowledge will develop your spheres of influence and expand the number of people who will help you much faster." This also applies to the idea of having a mentor. That mentorship should not be a one way street, and I think often times people forget that as they establish those relationships, and always expect the other to give. The advice about never burning bridges is a good one for our industry--everyone knows each other, and the arts industry is not as large as people seem to think it is. In a very collaborative industry, checking up on potential hires is a must--often times from multiple sources not listed on the resume. You rely on the word of someone you have worked with and trust, and if they have a negative opinion from someone that had a bad interaction with, that becomes fact, and that too gets passed around. If you burned bridges once, who is to say it won't happen again.
The closer that I get to graduating and rejoin the theatre industry work force all be it in a different compasity I find my self slowly reaching out to people that I have worked with it the past to see how reliable my network is. While this is a simple and easy explanation of of the do’s and don’t in the effort of building up ones business network it all could be boiled done further. That key part would be to act like the employee that people would like to work with again or for the first time. I say this because that I feel is at the core of networking in as far as working with multiple different people and different companies. You see it often when different productions are putting together their creative team that certain directors will constantly use the same core of people because they know the work and how they interact. So there should be a mindfulness in how we interact in the workplace.
I have always heard that theatre is not about what you know, but instead it is about who you know, and I think that it is very true. I found this article to be a decent overview about main traits you want to use and convey when networking. I found the point about never burning your bridges to be particularly poignant, because the theatre world is so small, you are bound to run into people you have worked with in the past, or at the very least their friends and colleagues. I think it is important, even when a job doesn't work out, to at least keep a professional relationship for this exact reason. I also thought that the bonus tip at the end should have just been one of the main points. I think the author was spot on in saying that no matter what your views are, there will always be people that do not share them and in turn may be turned off to you and your work, without even interviewing or talking to you at all.
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