Three (MEGA) Tips for Creating that AWESOME Personal Network.

"It's not what you know, it's who you know".

How many times have you heard that phrase?

Has that phrase ever frustrated you because you didn't feel like you 'knew' anyone?

All is not lost. Making connections and knowing people isn't just about being born in the right family or going to the right school.  It can also be a result of proactively cultivating a group of people around you who are not only a great support network, but encourage and inspire your growth.

Wondering how to get there? Well, here are a few steps to get you started...

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1. Go to all the random events related to your sector (and then TALK to people!)

I have lost count of the number of random events I have attended (quite often by myself) because I wanted to learn something or thought it would be useful. These talks, conferences and breakfasts were the are how I started to cultivate a support network within the worlds I was interested in.

Start with the professional body for your sector. In engineering for example, the first port of call would be the Engineers Australia website and event page.

The next step would be to register for all the events you are interested in or have interesting people speaking.

If you are nervous at the prospect of going alone, perhaps take a friend or work colleague.

It always helps if you arrive earlier, as the room will fill around you. Also, if there are only three people in the room, you're likely to end up talking to each other.

Suppress the urge to nurse a drink and stand in a corner. Remember everyone is there to meet people too! They won't mind if you strike up a conversation. If you are finding it difficult, start with the basics:

• Open with something about the event - it is a good common ground to talk about (you're both there for a reason after all!)
• Ask where they are from or what they do, and pay attention to the answer! (Not only is that respectful and you might learn something new, but it always helps down the line)
• If you walk into a room by yourself and everyone is already in small groups, you can always try catching the eye of someone and asking "do you guys mind if I join in?". More often than not they will be more than happy to bring you into the fold and they will already be talking about a topic ("so what were you guys talking about?") so you're all set!

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2. Get in contact with the people you met within three days.

So you've attended your event, you have a couple of key business cards and email addresses, the next step is to actually follow up!

Within three days is usually ideal - they shouldn't have forgotten you by then. A short email of introduction usually works, with perhaps a link to something useful or a reference to something you discussed. For example...

"Hi Mr M&M,

I hope this email finds you well! Just a quick note to say that it was fantastic meeting at the Engineers Australia talk on Monday night. It was great having a chat to you about the developments in the gas industry in Queensland; I definitely learnt a lot! I particularly enjoyed your comments about the importance of a company's social licence to operate.

I actually came across this link about gas developments on Curtis Island yesterday that I thought you might be interested in.

Anyhow, I would love to stay in touch - perhaps we can catch up for a coffee sometime in the next few weeks?

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Kindest regards..."

Short, sweet, and to the point.

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3. Stay in contact with them!

One of the best pieces of advice I got about keeping my network alive was to send people postcards on my trips to stay on people's radar. This works particularly well with busier people who might meet thousands of new people a year!

Emailing the person right after you meet them is all well and good, but the key is in developing that relationship. In that first email, offer to shout them a coffee, and then organise a time and follow through.

Even if you are completely scared and not sure what you would talk about, just ask to catch up! I once asked a random Head of Mechanical Engineering of a company out for a coffee after an event I attended. It lead to a job offer. You won't know if you don't try...

If that makes you uncomfortable or isn't feasible, at least stay in contact with them via email, phone or letter.

What I usually do is meet up with the person within a month or two, and then send a 'catch up' email or card at least once or twice a year. It may not sound like much, but it is all about maintaining that network and keeping it alive.

Sending a hand written card is a surefire way to get yourself noticed and remembered. Festive seasons are also a great time to send cards to your networks and friends. Get creative...

I love writing cards to people, and the hand written note is usually appreciated. It adds a personal touch, and is uncommon enough that it won't get lost in the black holes of inboxes. That is if you send it to the correct address of course...

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At the end of the day, remember that everyone you meet is a human being. We all are people with stories, personalities, likes, dislikes, ideas and experiences. The way I see it, 'networking' is a dry and impersonal term for 'meeting new people' or 'making friends' - making friends with cool, interesting, random people who operate in similar (or very different) circles to your own.

Some people see it differently - they see 'networking' as a purely focused or business based exercise. Perhaps...

In my opinion though, you shouldn't go to an event soley to 'network', you should go to learn something, meet new people and gain an experience. If you come out from the event with a few cards and a lead for a job that is great, but there is so much more in valuing each and every experience and person you meet on their own merits, and not on what they can offer you.  Remember, it's not all about you either.  Make sure you give back!  That's a whole other blog post though...

So get out there, have some fun and meet new people! What are your tips?

The FIFO Life: Part 1

 

My feet crunch on the gravel as I slowly make my way up the hill from the rig.  It's been a good 12 hour shift, a standard 'tour', as we call it.

It's a Saturday night, the last slivers of sunlight fading away over the horizon.

I left my heart to the sappers round Khe Sanh  // And I sold my soul with my cigarettes to the black market man  // I've had the Vietnam cold turkey  // From the ocean to the Silver City  // And it's only other vets could understand...

The almost-tinny tunes of Cold Chisel rise and fall with my step as I clutch my phone in my hand while I run.  I really need to get running pants with pockets in them...

As I look around, it strikes me that I really truly am, in the middle of nowhere.  As the hum of the diesel generators of the rigs fade away, I put my finger over the speakers on my phone to muffle the tune.  Sounds of wildlife - birds, crickets, cows - emerge from the paddock around me.

The land is far from silent.

It occurs to me that I travel on these dirt roads every day yet fail to notice, isolated as I am behind the wheel of a 4WD...

I'm not an amazing runner - that was always my brother's domain in the family - but I trudge on, eventually switching on my very-fashionable headlamp to illuminate my path.  I look up and the light glints in the eyes of the herd of cows ahead.

They are startled and confused, freezing in the light.  'What is this biped doing in our midst?' I read in their eyes...

The herd runs with me, and there is a moment of random, pure joy.

It's an interesting feeling, running with a group of animals.

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I make it back to the camp eventually, breathless but energised.  It isn't until a few hours later that I am told running in the paddock is explicitly forbidden.

The Health and Safety Officer delivering the news is contrite.

'Don't shoot the messenger darl, rules are rules.  Trust me, if it was up to us - well, it's nice having a girl run around here I'll tell you that! It's just the way it is. You might roll your ankle or get bitten by a snake.  Can you imagine the paperwork?'

The rules and regulations of occupational health and safety, and the concerns of liability, compensation and duty of care strike again.

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It's Saturday night, and I'm sitting outside my 3 x 4m room on the cement step, making a few calls.

Friends and family answer, and their news is either non existent ('How was your week?' 'Oh, fine, nothing happened'), or awesome ('OMG-I WISH-YOU-WERE-HERE-IT-WAS-AMAZING' delivered in one breath).

Both are bittersweet.

Because you do know things happened that week, but the daily motions of life don't always translate over the phone.

Because you know that whatever it was, it was probably amazing.

But you spend more than 80% of your time living with strangers...

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The FIFO Life is a series of moments experienced during the Fly-In, Fly-Out (FIFO) life of working on the oil and gas rigs.  Amorphous, random, and usually written on a whim, these are moments that encapsulate the emotion of a strange sort of a life.