There are plenty of articles on networking, so I’m taking the twist of networking in the places that you are everyday as a working mom. Why am I covering this? The most important tip from the 100+ interviews I’ve done with professional part-time working moms has been to network, network, network. As I continue the month-long topic of getting your career stuff ready as kids go back to school, I want to get you thinking about networking where you already are.
For some people, the idea is to add more names to your LinkedIn profile or even to Facebook, but networking is so much more than that. It’s an exchange. You want to help people with their needs and they will hopefully do the same. The first step is getting to know new people and then you want to figure out what that exchange can be (or even if there is one).
I saw a definition of networking: “Developing and using contacts made in business for purposes beyond the reason for the initial contact.” I would adjust that to say “contacts you make in life” because, for part-time working moms, these contacts can happen in business and personal settings.
Networking can happen in many situations. We all know the usual places to network such as a conference or networking event. What about other places where you are naturally? As professional working moms, we need to be able to integrate our professional and personal lives where it makes sense.
Network at the Office
If you’re working in an office, what about the built-in network of your colleagues? When was the last time you got to know a colleague who you didn’t previously know? Most colleagues have worked somewhere else before, so get to know people and their stories in an informal setting like lunch, a coffee break or even with an afternoon treat. Hear more about current and past roles. A helpful tip for this is to approach this with someone else who can meet with different people and share what you learn (like a networking wing momma instead of a wingman). You’ll get double the info with half the work and you’ll know strategically who you might want to talk to at a later date.
Network Online
Are you in a Facebook group? What about scheduling online coffee dates with others from the group? Reina Pomeroy suggests this on her Facebook group Heart Centered Business Bosses. I’ve started scheduling these and they’ve been amazing. It’s 20-30 minutes of your day and you get to know someone while in the comfort of your own home and won’t have to figure out childcare as a bonus.
Network with Parents from Your Child’s School
If you take your kids to school or pick up, consider scheduling time with parents you see all the time but might not really know. You often interact with fellow parents from your child’s classroom every day. Or what about the parents you volunteer with at school? Maybe the person doesn’t work anymore, but chances are he/she did and likely has a work story and network as well. Ask the fellow parent to coffee after drop off or before pick up. Or maybe take a walk or run together so you can squeeze in a workout too.
Get to know your Neighbors Better
How well do you know your neighbors? I know some of my neighbors incredibly well, but most I don’t. I try to get to know one or two neighbors at each neighborhood event we attend to slowly expand my local network.
What about at a neighborhood playground or play area where you often run into other parents? In my neighborhood, there are many moms who work part-time or with a flexible schedule, so I’ve seen them on the playground. We have chatted about business while our kids play and it became more of an impromptu networking playdate.
10 Tips on Intentional Networking Where You Are
You want make the most of your intentional networking, as one mom described it, since you don’t have a lot of time. Here are some tips, based on my own networking experience and approach:
- Have a plan for networking opportunities which includes goals (e.g., I’m going to meet X new people this month for a specific purpose)
- Do homework on LinkedIn, a company website, or simply Google. Moms that are incredibly involved in an organization or the community in general might be highlighted somewhere online that you’re not thinking of.
- Know what you want to cover. It will be informal and more of a conversation, but come to the casual chat informed and you’ll get more out of it and it usually helps control the time element.
- For example, “I saw that you worked at X company or in Y industry, tell me more” or “I was at X school event and you were speaking to the group about topic Y. How did you get involved with that?” or “Did something from your background help you get that going?” If they have a family, ask about their approach to balance.
- Have natural ways to start a conversation that work for you and the situation
- Do not only talk about kids, especially to fellow parents. We can often talk about our kids, how amazing they are, our struggles, etc. all day. Don’t.
- Make sure you have elevator speech ready and make it short. Think 1-2 minutes.
- Be willing to share your background as well so that it’s not like an interview and let your sharing be based on their questions. Don’t force your agenda of what you want to share if it’s not natural to the conversation.
- Don’t do all the talking
- If around other people, join groups, especially groups of 3 or more. Ask people to join you when it’s you and someone who you might have been chatting with already or someone you know really well, assuming you’re not having a very personal conversation. Avoid groups of 2 if they look to be talking about something specific.
- Have business cards or your phone at the ready, even in social settings.
Do you have some go-to places that are unusual for networking? Is there an opening line or question that works really well for you? Do you have a question about a networking opportunity? Please share in the comments.
