Q. I graduated with a degree in physics before moving into the area of downsizing, outsourcing and outplacement, for which I have been very well remunerated.
However much of my skill has been self-taught or learned on short courses, and I have been very aggressive in my work. Over time I have sharpened my more brutal techniques into something with a little more finesse.
I now find I am having trouble networking, to the extent that it is a limiting factor in my work. Can you suggest how I might overcome this?
A. If this is a matter of skills, then you can probably tackle it in the same self-taught way that you have in the past. There are excellent resources on networking, most of which start with how to initiate conversations and engage with people effectively.
Aggressiveness and brutality usually have to be tempered substantially to be effective in this area.
You might start by looking for readings and courses on how to have conversations with people you don't know, how to remember names, as well as building your emotional intelligence. There are other resources on how to set priorities for networking.
Many people network effectively from the perspective of meeting people and making a positive impression, but they don't give enough thought to who they need to meet in the first place.
In networking, your product is yourself, and you need to analyse your market - who are you trying to establish a network with? Then, where are you likely to meet them, and be able to have enough conversation to establish and then maintain the basics of an ongoing relationship.
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