The Professional Networker

The other day I was talking with a recent college graduate and the subject of our careers came up. Eager to find out where my classmate had landed after graduation, I asked him what he was doing. Although I laughed at first, his answer has given me a lot of mental fodder. He told me he was still looking for a job, and as a result he was attending a lot of networking events. He then dubbed himself with the strategically invented title of a professional networker.

Many people would ridicule the suggestion that anyone could be a “professional” job-seeker, but networking is so much more than that. I believe my friend’s answer was very smart. As college students and young professionals, we should all aspire to be professional networkers, not only for the purpose of seeking future employment, but for having a constant beat on the public relations industry, where your success depends on the connections you make between your clients and their audiences, or publics. So why not make these connections on a smaller, individual scale by attending networking events? With my friend’s clever new job title bestowed upon me, I was reminded of the importance of networking- not only to find a job, but to build and maintain my professional relationships.

I can still recall my first encounter with Frause. I was talking to an employee when they handed me their business card. In my opinion, Frause’s business cards are the gem of networking. The back of every card not only has the employee’s photo, but it also lists a few interesting facts about them. What better way to start a conversation than with the subject of sharks?

But alas, networking professionals are not born, they evolve over time. The paradox is that there isn’t much of an emphasis on networking in college, yet it is the time that networking will benefit you the most. Where does one begin? How about by getting some advice from the best networkers I know. Straight from the astute networking professionals here at Frause, I give you 10 tips to elevate your status as a professional networker:

1. Go out of your comfort zone and talk with people you don’t know.


2. Bring a buddy if you’re too shy to approach people alone.


3. Have business cards handy, even if you’re just a student.


4. It’s OK to jump into conversations. There’s no value in it if you don’t put yourself out there, even if you don’t know anyone.


5. Have an arsenal of questions handy. And no, “what do you do?” is not a good question.


6. Be your own brand. Come prepared with an elevator speech of who you are and why you’re there.


7. People do business with people they like, so talk about common interests. Don’t be a business robot.


8. Networking is not speed dating. The goal isn’t to meet as many people as possible, it is to meet a few people and have meaningful conversations with them.


9. Follow up with people you spoke with. The key is to maintain the connections you create.


10. Build your personal network early. It will help you later when you network for your business.

-Emily Nauseda