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10 Reasons that a Nurse should not be Scared of Networking
There's no need be feel isolated at a networking event
ProNurse
Networking is one of the buzz words of modern times. Everyone is networking online on sites such as ProNurse or LinkedIn or on the social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace.
Nursing is no different to any other career. It’s not just about what you know it’s who you know, or perhaps more accurately, who knows you.
However, going to a networking event is much more challenging for most people than making some online connections.
In 1984 a New York Time survey on Social Anxiety asked people what they most feared. It may surprise you to hear that the top two fears were walking into a room of strangers and speaking in public. Death only managed to make it to third place!
So, is walking into a networking event more frightening than dying? Of course not! Even better, with these tips in mind it can be a lot of fun.
- Remember that people have come to the event to meet people and that means you! You are not walking into a room of strangers when you go to a nursing networking meeting; you’re walking into a room of people that all have something in common – nursing!
- Take a deep breath before you walk in the room, it will help you feel and look more confident.
- If there is no obvious host greeting people, head for the nearest person who is not engrossed in a conversation and say something like “Hello, I’m Russ, I’ve just arrived.” The person/people will invariably say hello, tell you their name and point out the host, or even the direction of the bar. You can then choose to stay and chat or find the host/bar.
- Scared of ‘breaking the ice’? Don’t be. Ask what type of nursing they do and you’re off and running.
- A networking event is not speed dating in camouflage. You can introduce yourself to the opposite sex (or the same sex) without anyone assuming that you are flirting. Anyone is fair game to strike up a conversation with.
- The aim of networking is to meet a number of different people in a relatively short period of time. It is not to stay with the first person you met all night. This is actually very useful because:
- If you find someone boring it is perfectly acceptable to politely move on by saying that you had better meet some more people. In fact this is what you should be doing anyway, just make a note of the people who you like, or who may be helpful to you.
- Be a considerate networker. If you notice that someone is looking excluded make an effort to include them in your conversation. In fact this is a very useful way of finding someone to talk to if everyone else around you is busy talking to someone else.
- If people are deep in conversation and you want to join them, try not to hang on their shoulders. The point of networking is to have these sort of discussions. If there is no-one else around just stand back slightly and wait for their conversation to end. They will tend to include you as soon as they have finished discussing that point.
- Always follow up! It’s no use meeting some interesting people and then not contacting them again.
