Networking Tips for Remote Professionals
Suddenly everyone's wondering how to network while we work remotely! There are dozens of videos and tips on social media and blog sites dishing out techniques and best practices to help you stay connected in this disconnected work-environment. I don't intend to follow the bandwagon in this blog. However, I do intend to point out some interesting perspectives on the subject. To begin with, let's all first yank that chain of panic and put a stop to this overwhelming need to worry about coping strategies! 'Coping', by definition, is intended only for those who want to barely scrape through and survive. The fact that you are currently browsing through this blog is proof enough that you're surviving just fine. So let's not focus on just surviving; let's focus on thriving!
Every company is different in their own way and hence there is no rule book to follow to make sure success is inevitable. While the new post feels wonderful, it will be overwhelming to get used to the new work load. Here are some tips for you to ease into it.
Every challenge is nothing more than a gift-wrapped opportunity awaiting its fruition. Working remotely during a pandemic gives you a brilliant conversation starter to reach out to people (who under normal circumstances, wouldn't have had the time or patience to catch up for a face to face conversation).
Begin with a courteous check-in on the wellbeing of whomever you intend to connect with. After breaking the ice with the warmth of your affection, you have already set the stage for fruitful networking. Be it bouncing off a new idea or seeking perspectives, the time is perfect to network like you’ve never networked before. Here are 4 ways to help you get off on the right foot and 4 tips to ensure you leave a lasting impression.
4 ways to get started?
- Attend Live Shows: The opportunities are in plenty. The corporate world has left no stone unturned in making its presence felt on every form of social media. From Instagram interviews to simulated conferences on Airmeet and LinkedIn-live panel discussions, the platforms to network are a dime a dozen!
- Invest in Yourself: Most of these virtual connects are free of cost and even the ticketed events are being organized at dirt reasonable prices. Considering the cost you'll save on travel and the time you'll save by avoiding traffic, it's worth the investment to rub shoulders with like-minded industry professionals in the virtual world.
- Sign up for memberships: If you’ve always been on the fence about signing up to be a part of professional communities, then this social distancing should help tip the scales in favour of signing up for at least a couple of professional memberships to ensure that you’re putting your spare time to good use.
- Carve out Time: Besides budgeting money for memberships, it’s also important to budget time on a weekly basis to ensure consistency in all your networking efforts. It’s ideal to dedicate weekends for networking so that you know you aren’t taking up someone’s precious work time during the week.
4 Tips To Make Your Presence Felt:
- Create Your Personal Brand: The key to networking is making a good impression. The gift wrapping paper needs to look appealing because in this field of networking, people tend to judge the book by its cover more often than you realize. The only way to do that is to adequately focus on personal branding. From profile pictures to introductions and descriptions about yourself; all these are subtle cues that influence whether people would want to invest time in reciprocating your interest to connect with them. The blogs you read, write and share; the videos and podcasts you recommend; the tweets, fleets, stories and reels are all building bricks that show the world the kind of person you are. Find Your Niche: People are also thronging to Slack to find their niche through customized and focused Slack Channels and groups. Zoom webinars and YouTube Live sessions allow audiences to interact via messenger chatboxes. Although this interaction is limited, it’s still quite handy in ensuring a foot in the door to conversations and networks that can be built subsequently through follow up discussions.
- Make the first Move: Remote working has made the world a smaller place by making celebrities and accomplished icons in the world of business a lot more approachable and available. Most B2C companies are doing away with customer care helplines because their customers find it more convenient to reach out via Tweets. No company wants to be publicly flogged for poor products or services; hence customer concerns on social media have taken precedence over other formal channels of escalation. If irate customers are leveraging Twitter to attract attention to their concerns, then the working professional, by all means, must and should embrace the platform to connect with those leaders and industry experts we've idolized over the years. Even the likes of Simon Sinek and Tony Robbins have made tremendous efforts to connect with the common man during this lockdown. CXOs too are turning a new leaf by reaching out to their employees through personalized messages and emails to assure them of business continuity in these unprecedented times.
- Embrace Technology: Hobbyists are making hay while the sun shines with a new and revived vigor. Toastmasters International and several other hobby clubs have embraced the new reality and encourage all their members to leverage technology to connect with new likeminded people. Times couldn’t be better for the introvert fraternity who dread walking up to someone to strike a conversation. All those introverts who struggled with networking are now blooming in the current scenario. While most of us are wearing face masks to protect ourselves from the pandemic, introverts are finding their comfort zones using the mask of technology. The gall and guts required to network in person is petrifying compared to the comfort of networking via a keyboard in the comfort of your home with individuals across the globe. Influencers on Twitter, Linkedin, Youtube and Instagram have all noticed the surge in followers in the last three months.
Now, with the way I’m describing the situation, one might misconstrue this as traits of being an opportunist; but call it whatever you want, the fact remains: networking has clearly got a face-lift in these changing times. The onus is now on us! We either pounce on this early mover advantage, or sit back and watch from the sidelines. In the early days of Facebook, there were those factions who resisted resorting to the use of this new trending platform, citing that it’s meant only for friends and family and not for business. These same factions are today, forced to eat humble pie by utilizing the ‘paid promotions’ feature on Facebook to connect to a larger business community.
So what are you waiting for? Comment below and share your thoughts on this blog! Make your presence felt. 'Now' is always the best time to get started!