Talking to people you know and making new connections through them is a great way to market yourself or your business. But it has a built-in limitation: it depends on the people you already know. No matter how social you may (or may not) be, there are always going to be a lot more people you don't know.
There's also the question of quality: your friends and acquaintances may be great people personally, but they may not be connected in ways that are helpful to you professionally. It all depends on whether they have similar backgrounds or work experience to yours.
That's where organized networking groups come in. And no, you don't need to be a graduate of a prestigious college (or any college at all, for that matter) to take advantage of them.
Having a college connection does give you a built-in "in" to alumni networking groups. Just Google "alumni networking" plus the name of your college, or sign up for LinkedIn and search for your alma mater, and you can easily find these groups.
But there are plenty of networking groups centered not on colleges but on professions, locales, or other commonalities. Start with your profession. Virtually any profession has societies that provide information and support; their websites often point to networking opportunities.
Are you a yoga instructor who just moved to Boston? Do you want to meet hip young high-tech workers in the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn? Chances are, whatever you do and wherever you are, there's a networking group out there that can cater to you.
Then there's the very structured world of Business Networking International, which has chapters in many regions, charges a membership fee, and has strict attendance rules. This kind of group brings together professionals with different backgrounds who might need each others' services or can act as conduits to their own personal networks. The idea is that each person you meet is a doorway to a roomful of other people whom you wouldn't otherwise be able to contact.
Article comments