You can find many articles on networking. They’re often about how to rock a networking event, which is important. Here’s the thing. As a working mom, how many networking events can you fit into your busy life, big or small, each month or year? My twist on networking is to network where you are every day.

Why am I writing about networking if my focus is work-life balance? Why is networking so important? The piece of advice that was shared most often in interviews with more than 110 professional working moms for my books was to network, network, network. This is how so many moms I spoke to got to the work-life balance they were searching for. (I dedicate a whole chapter in my book to this topic.)

Networking for Working Moms Wanting More Work-life Balance

If you want to transition to a role with more balance, networking is the way about one-third of the women I interviewed found their roles, both inside a current employer or at a new employer. For major companies and for those that are smaller, you don’t often find listings for roles that allow for more flexibility or work-life balance. Networking can help you find these roles.

Let’s face it, networking is important for all working moms to keep the professional side of things on track. It doesn’t matter if you’re employed or an entrepreneur. The question then becomes how to fit networking into your already busy lives as working moms. As professional working moms, we need to be able to integrate our professional and personal lives where it makes sense. What about networking where you already are each day?

Network at the Office

If you’re working in an office or even if you work remotely, 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 or work with? If you’re like most people, you’re probably building relationships with people you work with or know through projects. Get to know people you don’t usually engage with. Learn more about their networks at and away from the office. Hear their stories in an informal setting like lunch, a coffee break, or even with an afternoon treat. Hear more about current and past roles. Sit next to someone you don’t know in a meeting and introduce yourself as a way to get conversations with new people started. Ask people you know about who else you should know to get ideas on who to speak with.

Network Online

Are you in a Facebook group? How do you interact with the others in that group? You might read a comment from someone and think it’s great advice or that it resonates with your own perspective. Reach out to schedule time to chat with that fellow contributor.

Maybe you have a friend who moved away who works in an industry you’d like to know more about? Ask him or her to make introductions with people in his/her new city or even people who are contacts anywhere in the country (or internationally).

I can’t even begin to tell you the number of online coffee chats I’ve had in the past 18 months. I’ve met with people from Facebook groups, friends of friends in other cities, and even people mentioned in articles who said something I could relate to.

It’s 20-30 minutes of your day and you get to know someone while in the comfort of your own home. I highly recommend using an online tool like Skype, Zoom, or even via Facebook where you can see each other’s face instead of a phone call. Bonus: you don’t need to figure out childcare if you’re doing this from your own home. Grab a cup of your favorite beverage — it can even be a glass of wine if it’s happy hour time — and set up some online conversations.

Network with Parents from Your Child’s School

You often interact with fellow parents in passing every day if you pick up or drop off. Or you might regularly volunteer with some parents at your child’s school. How well do you know those parents that you see regularly from a more professional perspective? 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.

Get to know your Neighbors Better

How well do you know your neighbors? I know some of my neighbors incredibly well, but with a community of 900 homes, I don’t know most of them. I try to get to know one or two neighbors at each neighborhood event we attend to slowly expand my local network. Maybe you can create more of a networking playdate so your kids can play while you chat.

Other Networking Opportunities

Consider other places where you often find yourself around people you know and new people. For example, what about a friend’s birthday happy hour? Spend time with those you know and then take a moment to meet at least one new person from the group.

Do you have a travel for work and avoid conversations at all costs on planes? I understand if this is work time for you, but it could also be a networking opportunity. I’ve done several projects for people I met on planes. You can gauge if it’s a good time or if you want to grab your phone and schedule another time to connect. Have business cards and/or your calendar ready to get time scheduled or exchange information.

5 Tips on Intentional Networking Where You Are

It’s helpful to be intentional with your networking, as one mom I interviewed described it. After all, you don’t have a lot of time when you’re a working mom. I’m including 5 tips to make the most of your networking, based on my own networking experience and approach, as well as thoughts from moms I interviewed:

• Have a plan for networking opportunities that includes goals. Try to be specific with what goals you want to achieve and by when (e.g., I’m going to meet X new people this month for a specific purpose).
• Do homework online. LinkedIn, a company website, or simply Google to research people you meet in passing and want to get to know better. Moms that are incredibly involved in an organization or the community, in general, might be highlighted somewhere online that you’re not thinking of. Use that to get an idea of what you’d like to cover. 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. How did you get involved with that?”
• Do not only talk about kids, especially to fellow parents.  Take about kids for a few minutes and move the conversation away from your kids.
• Don’t do all the talking. Take time to listen to their stories and industry knowledge. You could make a great friend or hear some amazing nuggets, which are integral to finding success in an industry. Have questions ready, so that you can guide the conversation, even if you limit your talking.
• At social gatherings, try to join 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.  Avoid groups of 2 if they look to be talking about something specific.

Want more ideas on networking where you are each day? Download my free Networking Where You Are Guide. (You can also learn more about networking in each of my books.)

How do you network? How do you network where you are? Is there an opening line or question that works really well for you? If you networking is something you find challenging, what aspect do you struggle with? I’d love to hear from you in the comments about how it’s going.