Goal: I would like to meet more people in my field

Goal: I would like to meet more people in my area of business/field.

Here I am talking about meeting your peers, your competitors, people at the same level as you in a similar business or people at the same stage as you in growing the business. More traditional and professional career paths have networking groups or professional organisations of peers that they can network with. There should be something for everyone you just have to find it.

This can be great for Profile Raising. Networking with peers will help get your name out there in your business/field. If you make a good impression people will remember you. You might even find a peer mentor (formal or informal) through networking with your peers from other organisations. If you are a junior, this type of networking can boost your confidence and help your skill/personal development.

Industry or Sector Specific networking can also be great for expanding your knowledge. This might be through formal training / CPD / skills events that they offer to members or through a professional organisation. Many often have newsletters to keep you up to date with industry news (and of course you can keep up to date through your conversations with peers) and job opportunities.

Even if you are self-employed or a freelancer, entrepreneur or director thinking there is not something for me I didn’t follow the traditional route – there probably is you just need to find it.

Goal Strategy:

If this goal sounds like something you want to do you should come up with your own personalised strategy for reaching this goal, but here are some examples:

1.  What type of people do I want to meet and why?
2. Do Research. Where can I meet these type of people? Identify a selection of groups and the pros/cons of joining them.
3. Check if anyone you know is already a member of the group. Check what your existing contacts attend.
4. Select a group and give it a go.
5. Review your experience – did it align with what you are trying to get out of the group. Were the attendees your kind of people?
6. Repeat process until you find a group that you want to join.

Further Reading:

• A Beginner’s Guide to Networking
• Your Networking Strategy
• Different Types of Networking Groups – Explained!
• How to Choose a Networking Group
• Researching Networking Groups – Questions to Ask.