Networking Advice That Works

If you hate making small talk at industry events, we feel you. But don’t let it cost you that promotion. Guest contributor and seasoned networker

- DR Tanvi Gautam

Dr Tanvi Gautam is the programme director of diversity & inclusion at Singapore Management University (SMU). She is also the founder of Leadershift Inc. This is the first in a three part series of career articles she is writing for Her World.

Your network is your net worth. You might have heard this before, but when it’s time for networking, most of us still get it fundamentally wrong. How often do the following apply to you? 

You go to an industry event with some office friends and spend the whole evening talking to them instead of meeting new people. 

You avoid going to such events because it just feels like schmoozing.

You hit the circuit only when you are looking for a new job. 

At industry events, you take people’s business cards but never bother to connect with them later. In fact, you have a drawer full of cards from 2002 which are collecting dust. 

You think Linkedin is for job hunting, Twitter is for your breakfast photos, and Facebook is enough for social networking.