The Art of Networking

I attended Peter Fiske's seminar at MIT recently. For those who do not know him, he is a well-known columnist for AAAS and he writes on career development for young scientists and engineers. He recently wrote a book entitled "Put Your Science to Work: The Take-Charge Career Guide for Scientists - Practical Advise, Proven Techniques".

One of the things that he talked about is the right way to network and this is exactly what I've been doing for years: He mentioned that many people have the misconception that networking means to contact everyone or influential people that you know when you are looking for a new job and asking if they know of any job openings!

I know people who would introduce themselves briefly to others and immediately flaunt their resumes. This is the wrong way of networking and the most likely outcome is that the other person would trash your CV.

Networking begins long before a job search. In reality, networking means that you have to get out of the lab and attend professional meetings or conferences, and meet people. Most importantly, you must have a genuine interest in the people that you meet (ask about their background, culture, hobbies, etc...). Also, you have to get interested in their work. It is important that you really want to know them personally and without expecting anything in return.

Once you've established a connection, you may keep in touch by sending an email from time to time. Send relevant articles or give a phone call!

Typically, if you have a genuine connection with people, they would help you when you need help. I always have a genuine interest in people and helped others (without expecting anything in return) whenever I could. And, this kind of attitude has always reaped rich rewards!