Nurturing My Professional Network... or the Top 5 Things I Learned During a Month of Networking

So I did it... 30 days during which I was supposed to focus more intently on helping others within my professional network. It was a long road... partly because sometimes I got so busy in my day-to-day that I didn't feel like I was really focusing on this challenge as I should, or, at least, as I promised myself I would. That said, in response to one of my followers who sent me an email message, I thought I'd post some of the networking lessons I've learned both from this challenge and from my own networking experiences. They may not all be new ideas, but those I repeat, I repeat for a reason. (Kind of like the idea that cliches exist because they are, at least in part, true.)

1. Play on your strengths. I'm a communications / media relations / marketing person. I am on a lot of list servs and hear about a lot of media queries. So it's not surprising that the place where I did much of my "nurturing" was in forwarding on media opportunities to others. The point: There's no reason your networking activities need to be outside of your comfort zone.
2. Approach every networking situation from a "What can I do for you?" perspective. You aren't an effective networker if you're always looking for how a relationship will benefit you or to find someone who can do something for you. Your first priority should be how you can help others with their goals. Then, when you do need something from your network, they'll be ready and willing to help you out.
3. Don't approach networking with tunnel vision. Every person you meet may not have an immediate and obvious connection to what you do. But you never know how your job, your goals, your responsibilities, and your needs will change over time. So keep an open mind.
   
4. Always network. This was really the purpose of the challenge. You may not have a need for your network today, but if you aren't nurturing it now, when you don't need it, then it won't be there for you when you do need it.
5. Follow up is everything. After you meet someone, find a reason to follow up and reconnect with her. Send a link to an article or blog post you think he might find interesting. Ask if she wants to get coffee to talk about an issue or project in which you both are invested. Invite him to an event you think he might enjoy. Relationships are all about ongoing communications.
   

As I started writing this post, I thought about some other networking tips -- not necessarily related to this challenge -- that I want to share. I'll post those later this week.

Day 29-30: Nurturing My Professional Network concludes...

Day 29 (Aug 13):

• Forwarded media query to a colleague.
  

Day 30 (Aug 14):

• Forwarded media query to non-MCC JHU colleague.

And tomorrow, I'll do a wrap up. What I thought of the experience. Lessons learned. All that good stuff.

-- Robin

Days 20-28: Nurturing My Professional Network

It's been a busy few weeks for me so I haven't been updating on my "nurturing your professional network" challenge. Sorry! Here's the latest:

Day 20 (July 29):

• Forwarded media query to non-Hopkins colleague for colleague's pro bono client

Day 21 (July 30):

• Forwarded media query to non-MCC Hopkins colleague
• Got a call from an MC businessperson looking for Hopkins connections re: an event she was hosting. Connected her with two colleagues. (If she wasn't part of my network before, she is now. She was extremely appreciative of my help!)
• Helped a friend/colleague with a personal issue by calling on an "expert" I knew in a particular area to lend some advice. (Of course, I would have helped her even without this project being underway!)

Day 22 (July 31):

• Met someone at an event at the Washington Business Journal offices. She heard I was connected to Hopkins and asked if I knew of anyone looking for engineering work. Gave her my card. She sent me the job descriptions. I forwarded them to a colleague in JHU's Whiting School of Engineering. (Again, expanding my network by doing this woman a favor...)
• Colleague asked for a connection in another part of Hopkins. Made that connection for her. (And was happy to do so! She's done so much for me in the past!)

Day 23 (August 3):

• Worked for my "pro bono client" on their print newsletter (Does that count?)

Day 24 (August 4):

• Forwarded colleague some intel I read in a local publication that might have significance for his job
• Sent a friend a link to an online article that will help her with a grad school class she's currently taking
• Forwarded two media opportunities to colleagues

Day 25 (August 5):

• Set up a dinner for later in the month so a friend of a colleague can "pick my brain"

Day 26 (August 6):

• Forwarded media query to a colleague

(I was out of the office on August 7 and 10.)

Day 27 (August 11):

• Forwarded a friend's resume to someone who may be able to help him get a job... or at least connect him with some people in the industry
• Made a lunch date with a colleague's colleague who'd like to "pick my brain" on some PR/promotion ideas
• Forwarded media opportunity to a colleague

Day 28 (August 12):

• Forwarded a media query to two colleagues
• Helped a colleague respond to a media query
• Connected a friend with a colleague who may be able to help him with an event he's planning
• Provided some insight on a media-related matter to a colleague

So there it is. The latest. I'm in the home stretch. Two days to go. I can't wait to reflect back on the month when I hit Day 31...

(P.S. -- to my reader who commented via Twitter on liking this series and taking on the challenge herself, it's nice to know I have readers who appreciate some of my theories, thoughts, etc. Thanks! And let me know how the challenge goes for you!)

Days 17-19: Nurturing My Professional Network

Day 17 (Friday):

• Finally offered up a blog post topic for a colleague's blog... I've been promising said colleague for months now that I'd write something for him. (Unfortunately, before I could write the post, some other factors prevented it from happening... so now I have to come up with another topic!)
  

Day 18 (Monday):

• Had coffee with a colleague. Connected her with another colleague because their two pet projects complement each other. (I think it could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship for these two... Sorry for the cheese factor there! I just couldn't help myself)
• Recommended some important VIPs for an event being held by a colleague. (They weren't on her original list.)

Day 19 (today, Tuesday):

• Helped facilitate a meeting between two people in my network, one of whom really wanted the connection and the other of whom I think will benefit (a lot) from the connection
• Lunch with the ever fabulous Shelley Ducker from Qiagen. (Of course, this was about nurturing both of our professional networks. And also just because, I think it's safe to say, there's mutual admiration going on between us. And she's just cool...)
  
• Forwarded media queries to two non-Hopkins colleagues
• Did a RT (have I mentioned my Twitter name -- @rferrier -- before?) for a colleague having to do with making a 7-year-old's day by voting for her dance team in an online competition

(Oh, and for those "new to the show," the original blog post with the story behind this whole "Day 17-19" / "Nurturing My Professional Network" thing is available here.)

Days 14-16: Nurturing My Professional Network

A three-day recap.

Day 14 (Tuesday):

• Scheduled coffee with a colleague -- with whom I have no projects right now and on whom I had to cancel numerous time and got too busy to reconnect with until yesterday.
• Sent media query to a non-Hopkins colleague
• Offered to help a colleague with a new non-profit he's starting. Not sure yet what shape my "help" will take. I have to wait until he has a chance to brief me more on the project.
• Sent media query to a non-MCC Hopkins colleague
• And had one of my colleagues do something for me by handling the CCG meeting because I was feeling extremely ill...
  

Day 15 (Wednesday):

• Met with a new contact who is looking to transition into communications and community relations to give him some Robin Ferrier "words of wisdom"...
• Took the lead on planning the CCG August happy hour even though one of my colleagues (ahem... you know who you are!) was supposed to handle this one.

Day 16 (Thursday):

• Talked with a colleague about helping him with his personal passion because I have a work colleague who is connected in that particular field
• Forwarded a link to a blog post about using Facebook to promote your small business to a colleague who owns a deli / catering business. (Shout out to Mitch and The Bean Bag in Rockville, Maryland. Great cookies! Great gazpacho... I tried it for the first time recently! Great chicken salad... his chicken salad has ruined me for all other chicken salads!)
• Sent information to a reporter for her blog that came from a non-MCC Hopkins colleague

And so the challenge continues...

DAY 13: Nurturing My Professional Network

I was out of the office on personal matters -- a friend's wedding -- on Friday, so yesterday was my Day #11... and I must admit, while I like the nature of the challenge, it's getting more challenging to fit in these "nurturing" activities among all my daily work and personal life obligations.

• Helping a colleague formulate an idea for potential media coverage
• Suggested two people meet each other because I think they can be mutually beneficial to each other

DAY 12: Nurturing My Professional Network

Today's accomplishments:

• Forwarded two media opps onto to colleagues
• Helped a colleague get her membership accepted for a listserv that she was having problems joining
• Forwarded relevant article to a colleague. (She probably wouldn't have seen it otherwise.)

FYI: I'm out of the office tomorrow, so no updates -- and no "nurturing" activity -- until next week.

DAY 9-11: Nurturning My Professional Network

DAY 9 (Monday):

• Arranged coffee with a new acquaintance who's looking to transition from his current position into communications. Wants my advice on how to go about doing so. (And yes, I am going to cheat a little bit here and count this now, when I arrange it, and later, when I actually have the coffee. Sorry!)
  

DAY 10 (Tuesday):

• Provided a list of job search resources to a colleague for a friend
• Acted as a liaison for someone looking to connect with our biotech department for career opportunities (Does this count? Not sure. It's not officially in my job description, but they called me looking to connect b/c I'm with Hopkins and I'm the most visible name on the MCC web site)
• Forwarded blog link to a colleague who may want to start following this blog and commenting on it to raise his profile
  

DAY 11 (Wednesday):

• Took over planning the CCG / WWPR joint August happy hour -- even though it was assigned to one of my CCG colleagues -- because he just didn't have the time to do it. (Details forthcoming.)
• Forwarded media query to non-MCC JHU colleague
  

DAY 8 (last Friday): Nurturing My Professional Network

Introduced two people. One was potentially looking for a new firm to do some work. The other was a colleague who does fantastic work in that specific niche area. The two are going to meet and chat in a few weeks.

DAYS 5-7: Nurturing My Professional Network

Seriously? Blogging every day? How do people find the time... even if they have the great ideas? So you're getting three updates in one post.

DAY 5

• Helped to promote a colleague's self-published art book
• Alerted a non-JHU MC colleague to a new blog he should be following and commenting on as it relates to his area of expertise and he'd like to raise his public profile
  

DAY 6

• Had lunch with a colleague who recently went out on his own and made some suggestions as to potential clients. I told him I'd follow up with a few who benefit from his services and have already followed up with one of them.
  

DAY 7

• Sent a media query to a non-MC based JHU colleague.
• Wrote a LinkedIn recommendation for a colleague. (I actually think it might have been the first LinkedIn recommendation I've ever written.)
  
• This isn't my nurturing my professional network, but I had two people today nurture their networks by doing something totally unselfish for me. And I think I was more aware of it because of this challenge to myself. Pretty cool!
  

DAY 4 Report: One Day Late...

So I didn't get around to posting my DAY 4 report yesterday. Short version... I did two things for my network:

• Sent a colleague (not on my campus) a media query. Not sure if he followed up with it or not, but it had the potential for big exposure for him.
• Sent a reporter information about an organization with which I have no affiliation. (I have a colleague / friend who is doing some pro bono work for the organization and I thought I'd help her out because the organization has such a great mission and I know the reporter who covers the appropriate beat.)

More later on Day 5...

DAY 3: Nurturing my Professional Network

Day 3. 8:30 a.m.

• Came across a query from someone who is working on a documentary about Artomatic and looking for sources to interview. Happen to know someone -- a recent connection via a neighbor -- who is involved with the event. Sent her an email this morning so she can contact the filmmaker and potentially be in the documentary.

The good news? So far, everything I've done are things I would have done regardless of the challenge. Does that make this challenge any less worthy? No. After all, it's only Day 3. There's no guarantee it will be quite so easy to continue at this pace...

DAY 2: Nurturing My Professional Network

Day 2. Day 1 made it look so easy. I had four items on my list!

Then I started wondering... what counts as "doing something for someone." Does it count if it benefits me as well? And relates back to my day job? Or does it only count if it's more selfless. (And this made me think about the Friends episode where Phoebe and Joey are debating the idea of the "selfless" good deed...)

Regardless, here's what I've got so far that falls within the more "selfless" category:

• Coordinated a visit for some South Korean students to JHU's School of Advanced International Studies. One of my on-site corporate partners asked if we could help make this happen. Technically, it's not something that directly benefits me... but I made it happen. Everything was confirmed this morning. Yay!

I think that's a good start for Day 2.

UPDATE: Nurturing My -- and Your -- Professional Network

Just a quick Tuesday update on my cause...

1. Saw some back-and-forth between my JHU colleague and the reporter who was looking for a source. Not sure if my colleague will end up being included in the article, but at least I generated some conversation there. And perhaps it will lead to media coverage for my colleague in the future, if not this time.
2. Reviewed the new "look and feel" of the NetSol web page. (By the way, I like it.) I didn't give it as much of a once-over as I'd like, but I plan on giving it a closer look... soon!
3. Found out one of my referrals (from earlier this month) resulted in a gig for a colleague. (Yay, Denise Graveline!)
4. Agreed to help a colleague with some training he's doing this fall.

I think I'd rate Day 1 of my Challenge a success. Yay!

Nurturing My -- and Your -- Professional Network

I read the Washington Post Jobs section every Sunday, but I don't read it for the classifieds. I read it because I enjoy the Jobs column. This week's piece was about fostering your professional network, in this particular case, your alumni network. (Particularly fitting since I work for a university, but not really my point here...)

What caught my eye the most from this article -- and what stuck with me and inspired me to write this post -- was the following sentence:

"'You have to do something for someone every single day. That's how you maintain and keep expanding your network,' said [Lee] Dudka, [president of the Princeton Club of Washington and a pharmaceutical and technology consultant] who's finishing a book on networking."

I'd like to think I follow the spirit of this advice. I make referrals for colleagues I respect. I run this group and help coordinate monthly lunches. But do I do enough? Do I do something every day? Probably not.

So in the honor of Dudka's sentiment, I thought I'd try a little experiment for the month of July... plus today. Each day during the work week, I'm going to aim to "do something for someone" to help maintain and expand my professional network. And I'm going to post here about what that something is. (If it goes well, maybe I'll keep doing it through August... or expand my self-challenge to a whole year. But sometimes it's better to start small and succeed before promising something bigger.)

So, in the spirit of this post, I'm happy to say it's 8:40 a.m. and I've already done two things for others:

1. Sent a media query on to a (non-Hopkins) colleague I know through the Leadership Montgomery program that could result in some nice media coverage for him and his business.
2. Sent a media query on to a Hopkins colleague (who isn't on my campus) with an offer to help him fine-tune his answer before he responds to the reporter.

I think those two activities should count as today's "good deeds."

Come back here each day to find out what that days "somethings" are. (And I'll post updates as to any results of my efforts.)

In the meantime, happy networking! (And wish me luck!)

-- Robin