11 Best Networking Tips and Tricks

Networking is an extremely useful skill, irrespective of what level you are at in your career. For Freshers and graduates trying to figure out their career interests and landing their first jobs, networking can be the stepping stone to future opportunities, mentoring by industry experts, or even their ticket to a visa-sponsored job role! Here are some tips for networking to help you hack the networking game.

Professional networking tips and tricks

1. Start Networking earlier!!!

Networking is just a tool to help you for the course of your life and you never know when you may need it. It is better to know how to network and start networking before you think you need it.
When you start talking to people and make connections only if and when you need it, people can sense it (professionals can smell it like a bloodhound). This might probably seem off-putting to people and might end up not resulting in your favor. One of the important tips for networking is to start making connections before you think you would need them whenever an opportunity presents itself. No harm, no foul right? Well, Gen Z freelancers are putting a good use of networking to find freelancing gigs.

2. Research the people

Networking advice is useful only when you know who you are going to meet. Sure, you may run across people and have no background on them but if there is an opportunity with somebody, researching about them you’re going to meet goes a long way in making an impression. This shows that you are serious about your interests, profession and the opportunity in front of you. When researched genuinely, it might give out a feeling of warmth as well that shows that you genuinely care about the networks you make.

3. Relationship building with networks

There are many reasons you should think of networking as relationship-building and follow tips for networking in a manner to acquire quality networks. 
For one, if you think you’ll reap immediate rewards by attending one networking event, you’ll be disappointed. Networking benefits only materialize after some time of nurturing professional relationships with constant efforts.
Secondly, you should always look at networking in terms of what you can bring to the table. Focus on how you can be of help. This way, the other person will owe you favor that you can redeem sometime in the future. A mutual win-win is a much better and table network!
More importantly, relationship building is long-term. It does not always lead to job opportunities; it can also be a way to access perks, events, resources, guidance, and mentoring. Stay open to possibilities. Plus with maintaining such networks you also acquire skills which help in excelling at job interviews.

4. Respect given is respect gained

One of the most important things to remember while learning tips for networking is to remember to treat everyone with due importance and respect. Make it your mission to find value in everyone you meet. Ask questions and pay attention. Don't make the mistake of underestimating people based on their titles or backgrounds. Everyone has a worth that will assist your network one way or another!
You might later find out that the person whom you dismissed as someone unimportant turned out to have valuable knowledge or connections. RESPECT is proportional to TRUST as well!

5. Keep an open-mind

Tips for networking can only go far as in order to open the doors for connections, you need to keep your mind open. It is an important one for 101 on how to network. While making connections, you might naturally talk to people from your field or people who might be helpful to you in your field, which can be beneficial. But, it is also very important to connect to people who fall outside the spectrum of your field. You never know where and when these connections might be beneficial for you, after all the modern world thrives on how fields are connected for development!

6. Network on social sites

Social media can be one of the best ways to meet new people and connect to them. The current scenario of platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn connecting across a profession spectrum can also be used to start a connection! All you have to do is start having conversations with thought leaders and individuals in your industry.
Utilize LinkedIn to connect with them or follow them, and regularly drop by with your thoughts on the same topics that they discuss. Tag them, re-share them, and engage with them on their posts. Respond, especially to the positions they write about in the field & ask them questions or thank them in the comments.
When it comes to Twitter, leaving public comments allows you to be discovered by others in their network, too. You can learn a lot through just observation and absorption online; all you have to do is find the right people to follow & communities to join.

7. Attend Events & Webinars

Attend career fairs, company presentations, webinars, panels, and other events that are related to your chosen or linked fields to have a wide base. Such events are a great way to enhance your knowledge about the area in a semi-formal setting, boost your skill set, and meet people with similar interests. Make an effort to strike up a conversation with the panelists, speakers, or organizers of the event(s), leaving room to contact them afterwards for a longer discussion. This is one of the most effective tips for networking that will also help you boost your business, professional network as well as confidence.
Universities and other organizations often conduct speed networking sessions specifically for students. Make a note to attend these events, as such sessions often invite notable alumni and leaders from the field who are happy to chat with you in a candid setting. Your alumni network can be a real treasure trove, so make sure to tap into this!

8. Arrange Informational Interviews

Informational Interviews are just another one of the many tips for networking after textual exchanges online. As the name suggests, informational interviews help you gather information from someone working in the field or company in which you plan to build a career or wish to tap into. After creating an initial rapport with someone over emails or social media, it’s a good exercise to ask them — if they have the time — to chat with you over a cup of coffee or on a zoom call to “pick their brain.”
You can get answers over emails, but there’s no substitute for sitting across from another person and having a conversation. This is applicable for both the people you’ve met before and have stayed in touch with online, as well as people you’ve never met but only ever connected with online.
A good time to arrange informational interviews is correct before you plan to apply to their company for an opening. It helps assess what the organizational culture is like from the inside. Rarely, there can also be an offer to shadow them at work, so you can get an even better peek into the everyday life of a professional in your field. Make sure to apply your newly acquired tips for networking to grow during a presented opportunity as well.

9. Keep it real

Making real conversations instead of surface small formal conversations can go a long way. This is one of the best ways to learn how to network as well as maintain them. When you start making real connections, you can explore more ways in which you can help each other.  After all, you're both attempting to learn how to network effectively. Don't assume that leaving a networking event with only one contact means you didn't make the most of your time. Even one hour with a single good contact is worth the time and effort and exercising this goes a long way in backing up the other tips for networking.

10. Send follow-up emails

Irrespective of whether you met someone at a virtual event or in person, whether you met them at a networking event or just attended an event they spoke at, one of the good tips for networking is to always follow up with a note over email or on social media. Make this time, as you want to reinforce your conversation/connection before they forget about the event or having met you. Moreover, reaching back out with a message goes a long way in making an impression!
Here’s a follow-up email template you can use when connecting on social media or by email:

Hi [Name]
It was so great to hear from you/talk with you about [topic] at the [event details] on [day]. The student from the University of Oxford asked you about [a recall of the things you discussed to help them identify you].
Thank you for such a fantastic talk & insights. I would love to stay in touch and follow your work at [project/company they mentioned]; I hope that’s okay.
Have a great day.

Regards,
[Name]

11. Keep faith in networking

Trusting the process and believing in the power of networking is an important networking tip. When you believe that the true value of networking is to help others and do your part, you'll soon notice that magic is happening all around you. Trust the process and connections you are building, and everything will work out in your favor and others' as well.

Networking is a key tool in the modern job market and can be a great way to find success in your professional life. With the right tips for networking, you can become an expert and make sure you’re making the most of it. Always make sure to research the people you’re meeting, practice your elevator pitch, and focus on making quality connections over quantity. So grab a coffee and start connecting on freshers week which is a good way of networking with new people.