Question: How long until you see results of networking at the same organization? When do you say (a) more effort or (b) stop?
This is a great networking question!
Admit it — we’d all like to have instant, fabulous results from our first (or second) networking interaction at a meetup or within an organization but these things take time (sorry!). Yes, time to acknowledge that networking often takes time — and involves more than algorithms, combined with simply signing up.
On the flip side, often we spend too much time with a group out of habit or routine without questioning why we continue to stay involved. A change in the composition of a network or personal networking goals may be an indication it is time to reconsider. And maybe, just maybe it is not the network but how you’re engaging with it that needs to change.
Looking back, the results I achieved from my membership in various professional organizations was very different that those of other members as I not only attended events (sitting with new people or seeking out new introductions each time), I also volunteered and discovered ways to be helpful to the organizations overall. I maximized every tool available to members on the organizations’ websites. When friends saw my networking outcomes from these organization and they sprang to sign-up too, I warned them not to expect the same outcome (as I knew that being passive networkers they would never produce networking outcomes equal to mine).
A final piece of networking advice: assess your own motivations and actions before completely ditching a networking opportunity you’ve invested significant time in.
