Discover Your Path to Success - Part 3

We’ve looked at how to make effective use of your downtime, understand the process of goal setting, and identify which research skills will help you achieve your goals so that you can start on the path to success. Now it's time to look at two more skills.

The first is how to build a network of successful people. At first glance this may not seem like something that relates directly to success, but it does have benefits for reaching your goals that are worth considering. A network provides support in tough times and a valuable group of people who can provide advice or assistance when needed. In some careers this is vital for survival and progress. Without a network of people who will help you out when you need it, it can be very difficult to get where you want to be.

The second skill is about power. I'm not talking about politics or corruption here, but the ability to influence others and get things done in a positive way. This is an important skill for career progression and to avoid the daily frustrations that can occur in any career path.

Networking skills are like any other skill, they are something that needs effort and practice, but with time you'll start building up your network of contacts. The best way of building this up is by meeting new people on a regular basis. This means going to events, conferences and meetings.

Think of this as a two way process. You will be developing your network while building your own skills at the same time. While you're doing this it's also important to make sure that you're keeping your network up to date, a contact list that is years out of date is not more use than no list at all. Regularly sending out emails with information about what you are doing is an easy way to do this, and the benefit for them will be obvious too.

A good example of networking in action comes from the pharmaceutical industry, where it’s vital for career progression from assistant chemist to scientist or research director. To do this requires a careful and sustained campaign of networking over many years, engaging with colleagues and publishing papers in peer reviewed journals. The learnings from this research are then used by all the staff at the company.

Another example comes from university level research scientists where the knowledge and skills they develop are given freely to undergraduate students to help them progress towards their qualifications. In both these examples they have developed a network of contacts that can be relied upon time and time again, which helps everyone involved.

As you've already seen, power is something that is essential to have in any career progression, but not everyone has it or knows how to use it to their advantage.

Having power means that you have the ability to influence others to do what you want and it's something that comes in two forms, personal and positional. Personal power is the ability to get others to listen and act on your words while positional power relates to your job title and the people who report to you. Both are vital in progressing through your career.

Personal power can be gained by building relationships with other people. This may seem strange at first, but trust me it works. Get into a habit of meeting new people, discuss what they do and what they would like to achieve, then agree on how you can help them move forward in their own career. This can be as simple as providing them with information and advice, but only if they ask for it.

Posing questions that you think they may find helpful is a good start. The best approach here is to think of where they are in their career, what's next on their agenda and what skills and knowledge they will need to help them achieve this. If you have time after your meeting then follow up with a simple email or phone call confirming your offer of assistance and thanking them for the time they spent talking to you. Asking if there is anything else you can help them with when you are available will also work well in getting your name in their mind.

It’s also a good idea to put yourself in the shoes of your potential contact and imagine how they would like to move forward too. This will help you understand their needs and how you can assist them.

Keeping your network up to date is an important part of keeping your career progressing, so when you meet new people try to find out what they have been doing lately and how their careers are going. Providing them with the right answers is a good way of building on the relationships you have built up so far while showing that you're in touch with their progress and care about where they are heading.

One of the most successful networking meetings I have been involved with was when one of the attendees was interviewing a number of people for a new position. As she spoke to each interviewee she asked what kind of support system they had, whether they enjoyed their chosen field and how easy it was for them to progress in it. At the end of the interview she called all seven people into her office and told them that she was going to be putting out a job advertisement soon and wanted some feedback on their experience. This meant that she could get all seven people to help her write the job description and create a fair and thorough application criteria, something they would all be interested in doing.

Now you may not want to take their opportunity away from someone else, but think about who you could ask for help when the time is right. The benefits for doing this will help grow your network and develop your career at the same time, making you a winner all around!

Networking Tools

Networking tips for different situations:

Parties & Conferences:

• Use these as opportunities to meet new people and discuss what they do. Agree on how you can help them move forward in their own careers.

• Network like this every time you get the chance, whether it's at a corporate event or at a social occasion. The more people you meet and build relationships with, the better your chances of success.

• Spend time speaking to people individually and in groups, but keep a record of who you've spoken to so that you remember who your contacts are and which companies they work for.

Meetings:

• Make sure that you speak with everyone at the meeting and encourage them to talk about themselves so that you can understand more about their career paths. This will help when building your network later on.

Conclusion

When you get into a position where you need to understand the current state of affairs in the company you work for, or in your industry, networking is a great way to do this. This was covered in previous chapters and will increase your chances of success. There are many ways that you can network and it's about finding what works for you.

Remember that networking is not about how much time you spend networking or how much contact you have but rather how valuable that contact and the opportunities it provides are to all involved. If you want your career to prosper, then don't be afraid to take action, even if it seems like there isn't anything for you at the moment.