How to Build Your Professional Network
Whether you are gainfully employed or looking for your next IR position, networking is vital for career advancement. Those with broad networks enjoy numerous advantages, the most obvious being access to unposted job vacancies or, for IR consultants, new business. The challenge is to build the right network and then to nurture it so that your connections do not atrophy.
To help you expand and sustain your professional connections, in this issue of IR focus we examine the practices of successful networkers.
Best Practice: Accept that Networking Is a Lifetime Pursuit
Many people set out to create a personal network for a specific short-term reason such as securing new employment. While this is the best way to learn of job possibilities, it misses the value that can accrue over the long term from having an ever-widening network. Serial networkers tap in regularly to: i) stay connected to emerging trends; ii) gain valuable insights from inside and outside the world of IR; iii) forge meaningful professional relationships with key influencers; and iv) contribute their own perspectives, expertise and connections back to their connected group to help others. Accepting that a network has long-term value for your career and that you only get out what you put in should shape the amount of time and effort you spend on your network.
Best Practice: Remember the Six Degrees of Separation
Although it may not seem like your insurance broker, car dealer or next-door neighbour can play a part in your personal network, serial networkers understand the concept, originally expressed by Hungarian author Frigyes Karinthy, that everyone is just six steps away from any other person in the world. So it may just turn out that your plumber’s sister-in-law is an investment manager at a large pension fund or your personal trainer works out with the head of IR for a big bank. Although it sounds mercenary, when viewed through the lens of networking, every personal connection is valuable.
Best Practice: Attend as Many Social Events as Possible
Simply showing up at social events is a good first step in meeting new contacts. CIRI itself offers many opportunities to socialize with your peers over lunch and learns, at the Annual Conference, IRO Roundtables and the annual Essentials of Investor Relations program, to name a few. Since members attend different CIRI events, it’s worthwhile to go to more than one purely from a networking perspective, ignoring for a moment the educational value of doing so. Networkers also take advantage of events staged by other organizations such as Women in Mining (which hosts a monthly networking luncheon open to members and non-members), Women in Capital Markets, the Canadian Society of Corporate Secretaries, and the CPA, to name just a few. Getting involved in a charity such as United Way also broadens your business connections while contributing positively to Canadian society. Choosing the right organization is important, but what’s more important is getting involved.
Best Practice: Network with Institutional Investors and Sell-Side Analysts
It stands to reason that as an IR practitioner, you will meet members of the buy- and sell-side on behalf of the company or companies you represent. Since you may not always be working for the same company, serial networkers recommend broadening your network to include those outside your normal universe. This can pay dividends, particularly if you switch industries. And remember, an institutional investor and/or sell-side analyst is the best reference an IR practitioner can have when job hunting. These people are also a good source of business leads for every IR consultant. Consider expanding your network by attending events hosted by the local chapter of the CFA Institute.
Best Practice: Use Technology to Prepare
For most people, time and cost dictate the need to get as much value as possible out of every networking event they choose to attend. Technology can help. Before attending, try to find out who else is going and then use LinkedIn and/or other research resources such as Thomson or Capital IQ to gather background information on those you would like to meet. Knowing you have something in common (be it a person, industry, hobby, university, charitable cause) is a great way to break the ice when meeting a potential new member of your network.
Best Practice: Read Self-Help Books on Networking
Even if you are gregarious by nature or have learned how to make engaging small talk with strangers, you can still pick up useful tips by reading self-help books. One of the earliest and most often quoted resources is How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Another recent resource worth a quick read is Convince Them in 90 Seconds by Nicholas Boothman. If you don’t want to take the time to read these books, remember that the best way to engage with someone you don’t know is by turning the conversation around by asking questions about him or her. One of the best conversation starters is what brings you here?
Best Practice: Be Direct
When you meet a prospective new member of your network, it’s valuable to have an elevator pitch ready to tell the person about yourself. In developing this narrative, think about what might interest someone else about your background and focus on that in your highlights. Like the standard elevator pitch used by executives when meeting a potential investor, make sure yours is short. A few sentences are enough for you to remember and use to capture interest. Anything more may leave the other person squirming and ready for a quick exit. When speaking to people outside the IR world, consider making the profession real for them, as many ‘civilians’ often mistake IROs for investment advisors. Indicating that you communicate with global investors on behalf of ABC Manufacturing is a simplistic but effective way of describing your job. Part of being direct is to also let the other person know why you are interested in pursuing the conversation. Saying that you are in the market for a job or have always been interested in meeting someone in the business lets your potential connection understand that you are looking for something. A person who doesn’t know can’t help. If you are nervous about making the first move, remember this: the person you are attempting to network with may also be interested in networking with you.
Best Practice: Be Respectful
Successful serial networkers know the difference between being outgoing and obnoxious. Outgoing behavior is introducing yourself to a stranger; obnoxious is trying to hold the stranger’s attention for too long, barging into a private conversation, or adding someone you met for two minutes to your personal contact list and bombarding him or her with unsolicited messages. Sending a personal note after a meeting to say you enjoyed the experience is a nice gesture. Leaving 10 messages on someone’s personal voice mail is creepy and will ensure you will never gain the person as a confidant.
Best Practice: Mentor Others Or Be a Protégé
Organizations like CIRI offer organized mentorship programs, which are a great way to meet peers in the industry. For the mentor, the protégé and the protégé’s network can be accessed, and the reverse access goes for the protégé. The time commitment is not typically onerous and it can lead to job placement opportunities or access to future hires.
Best Practice: Cultivate the Network
If you are like most IR practitioners, you have a LinkedIn page. But how often have you reached out to each person in your network? If six months have gone by – or worse, two years – would you really feel comfortable in asking a contact for a favour or expecting that person to think of you when aware of a relevant opportunity? Successful networkers recognize the need to stay current with their business connections and use technology to do so, but also mix in the personal touch of a phone call or invitation to lunch or coffee, because they remember that networking is a lifetime pursuit that’s not just about how many people you know, but how well you know them.
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