No matter what stage you are at in your HR or payroll career, there is one thing that we all should be doing: networking.
When we attend events or stay active online with people outside of our workplace, this helps our careers in ways we don’t even realize.
For some of us, it may seem easy and people refer to us as a social butterfly or someone who knows everyone. Others feel uncomfortable at networking events and avoid them at all costs. That’s nothing to be ashamed of because there are more in that situation than we think.
However, none of us want to miss out on an opportunity to advance in our careers because we don’t like going. Every professional has distinct skills. For this reason, networking can be so exciting because we feed off each other’s knowledge and experiences to push ourselves. Here’s some advice for effective networking and how to break out of your shell while successfully developing confidence, successful relationships, and a sense of satisfaction.
The common goal of networking is to make a strong first impression and provide value. Here are the top tips our team came up with on how you can accomplish this:
Having patience is the key to successful networking. Saying something when the time or place isn’t appropriate might cost your reputation or future considerations. It’s not ideal to network in these following situations:
There is a Latin phrase called “quid pro quo,” which is known as the “favor for favor” mindset. This is the wrong way to network with other professionals. It’s entirely unprofessional and can damage relationships and cause ulterior motives. Of course, we all want to return the favor when someone helps us, but there shouldn’t be a cost to that.
It’s better to go in with a positive mindset willing to help anyone who you can. If you continuously provide positive energy and are helpful to those around you, eventually you will see others go out of their way to help you too. This mentality creates a domino effect of positive outcomes rather than “you owe me” mindset.
If you want to learn more from our team and their experiences, you can head over to our blogs page to read about other hot topics in all things HR and payroll. We hope to see you at our next event, you can view our calendar here. Make sure to stop by our table and say hi to our team.