Quick Thoughts on Networking & Sharing
In our blog reading club, we discussed an article, On Networking, about networking advice. Sharing is one of the foundations of networking…
In our blog reading club, we discussed an article, On Networking, about networking advice. Sharing is one of the foundations of networking, but a problem raised during our discussion was: “I felt so nervous when expressing myself on my social media. People might judge me.” I have a similar fear, but these are the three reasons why I share my learning.
Reinforce the knowledge I consume. Digest what I’ve learned through self-explanation. It’s my favorite learning technique. It’s also a way to hold yourself accountable for my learning progress.
Find more learning friends. As Andy said, learning in the open helps people identify your interests and engage with you effectively on my social media.
Envision my future self through personal branding. Quoted from Allen, building up a personal brand isn’t only about showing yourself to people but also a manifestation of who you want to become.
Some Reminder. I went to a virtual data science meetup about expanding your network, and I found these reminders useful for me.
Networking isn’t about our short-term gain but a long-term learning ecosystem. Most of us want to have immediate gain, such as a job, when networking. Yet, we can view it as seeing uncommon things in our social circle and gradually build up a mutually beneficial ecosystem.
Pay it forward and learn management. We might not be able to be helpful to seniors who have helped us, but we can contribute to our community. Besides, we learn how to mentor people in this process. It could teach me how to be a good manager and equipped with talent resources if I need to hire someone in the future.
Though networking might have a negative connotation, it is essentially a mind game. (A healthy mindset) There are some rules(how to talk to seniors, how to behave in different situations) in this game, but mastering this game is such a fun process. e.g., My observation game with Trang
I’m still on my way to exploring what networking is and how to network. To be continued.