Skills to Enhance Personal and Professional Networks (NET2)

Overview

Managing a strong network is one of the most important things you can do to grow professionally. Yet despite its importance, maintaining an effective network is often not taught in undergraduate and graduate schools. The good news is that managing and growing a network is easier than it sounds. In fact, most professionals have some level of basic networking skills simply from helping someone find a job, attending an industry conference, or seeking professional connections through social media.
Effective networking involves more than simply collecting contacts. Strong networks should be relevant to your career and consist of people you trust. Personal networks are just as important as professional networks and the two often overlap. In this course, we explore ways to strengthen and grow networks by examining proven strategies that have helped individuals meet their personal and professional goals.

Major Topics:

• The value of strategic networking
• Quality vs. quantity in networking
• Networking for professional opportunities
• Person-to-person networking
• Maintaining and expanding your current connections
• Networking for introverts
• Long-term networking strategies

Learning Objectives:

• Identify networking opportunities
• Manage and grow your existing network
• Understand how to converse with new contacts
• Recognize the importance of personal networks
• Assess your current networking skills
• Explore networking best practices