What are your tricks of the trade when it comes to networking?

5/25/2011 7:43:07 PM

Be a dick, but don't be a dick.

5/25/2011 7:50:26 PM

1. alcohol
2. becoming part of the good ol' boys network
3. active involvement in the professional society. This one gives me something good to talk about informally when I meet potential clients so that I can establish a good rapport without directly making a sales pitch.

5/25/2011 8:13:12 PM

Shit, I thought I was in the Lounge

5/25/2011 8:16:13 PM

join a frat

5/25/2011 8:21:46 PM

^^^is this professional society industry-specific or something like Blah City Young Professionals?


What are some professional societies in the Triangle that aren't industry specific, and gives you the opportunity to network with people that you wouldn't otherwise deal with in the ordinary course of business?

[Edited on May 25, 2011 at 8:38 PM. Reason : .]

5/25/2011 8:37:59 PM

be a white male.

5/25/2011 8:42:49 PM

chit chat is thattaway >>>>>>

5/25/2011 8:48:00 PM

There are several networking groups on LinkedIn I could refer you to. Pm sent

5/25/2011 8:51:24 PM

i wonder if anybody's ever gotten a job through LinkedIn?

5/25/2011 9:02:14 PM

^^gracias

^I present exhibit A: message_topic.aspx?topic=613352

5/25/2011 9:05:45 PM

Quote :

"^^^is this professional society industry-specific or something like Blah City Young Professionals?"

I'm the chair of the young engineers steering committee for the Society of Fire Protection Engineers and a member of the engineering licensing committee. It's been great from a networking standpoint because I can talk about big picture advancement of the profession stuff. For local networking I sometimes go to the Project Management Institute dinners and they do speed networking with your table where everyone does a 1 minute talk about themselves and we exchange business cards. I haven't gone to anything that's generic young professionals, but there's likely value there too.

The trick is to find networking opportunities that match your goals. Business development for your current company is a little different activity from job hunting. I tend to focus on activities that build my professional identity and personal "brand", and it's worked well for me because I'm in a specialized field.

5/25/2011 9:09:11 PM

Attending a Triangle Tweetup does not hurt.
http://triangletweetup.org/
Of course you really need to be somewhat active on Twitter but
I have made many business (and personal) contacts through the
various Triangle Tweetups over the last 3-4 years.

5/25/2011 9:10:23 PM

I go to the monthly Mobile events in Boston, it is a very nice way for me to meet other people in my field.

5/25/2011 9:53:08 PM

Quote :

"i wonder if anybody's ever gotten a job through LinkedIn?"

Just going to assume you're trolling...

Anyway, LinkedIn has a few great groups in the Triangle that have networking events several times a month. The one I used and made contacts from was Linking the Triangle.

LinkedIn is what you make of it. If you only connect with college friends or frat brothers you'll get nothing out of it.

5/26/2011 9:55:03 AM