Why is networking important?
Although you might associate professional networking with the business world, it is beneficial to anyone who wants to have a dynamic, fulfilling career. Networking opens doors and creates relationships that support many areas of your career, including new opportunities, personal development, collaborative research, policy activism and evidence-based practice (Goolsby and Knestrick, 2017).
The idea of networking might be intimidating, but it can be important in both job searching and career development (Hamlin, 2024). When you network, you actively seek relationships in your profession to pursue your goals. These connections may be created in person, through an industry-specific organisation, meeting or conference, or online. You might picture someone ‘working the room’ as networking, but rather than trying to meet as many people as possible, you should focus on creating meaningful, mutually beneficial relationships. This needs different approaches, including operational, personal, and strategic networking (Hamlin, 2024).
- Operational networking. You're probably already doing this – it involves building relationships with people you work with day-to-day. Your colleagues can be valuable sources of knowledge and insight that help you perform your duties better.
- Personal networking – your personal network includes the social and professional interactions you have outside of work. This includes friends, family, classmates, and people you meet through professional and social organisations, hobbies, volunteering, and involvement in your community.
- Strategic networking – these are relationships that you develop with a specific goal in mind. For example, you might contact someone working in a different specialty to see how that differs from your own, or you might seek out people working in more senior positions to find yourself a mentor.
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