Writer, Agilist, Elder Geek
Networking, as I note probably way too often, is something that not everyone wants to do or likes to do. That's not my take as I love networking, but if we're honest, we have to admit many people who just don't like it.
So, until you (or they) get more into the joy of networking, let me note one more practical reason you do want to network.
Networking is a great reminder.
I meet a lot of interesting people on the job, in my career, at conventions, and of course, reading books. Some of them are famous, known professionals, and otherwise largely cooler than I am – or at least richer and more famous. But usually cooler.
Now when you meet these people, you may want to ask them for advice or information. However you feel scared, concerned, and don't want to mess it up.
Scared aside, meeting and learning from people who have been successful is one of the major ways to learn to be a success. So if you don't swallow your fear and contact them, you will loose out.
In fact I usually find such people are often glad to help out if approached properly – I've corresponded with two major authors of employment books, several website publishers, and a life coach with a decade plus career in the last few months. I've learned a lot from them, and they were to a person helpful and glad to give me advice.
There are two major parts of contacting people:
The convention ideas roundup is here.
When conventions focus on career events, its usually panels, workshops and demos. This is and should be the norm, since these are the things people want and need. I'd suggest conventions consider one addition to all of this.
A professional networking event.
Take an hour for people interested in going pro and give them a place to talk, exchange cards, and find out more about careers from each other. INvite people from the professional panels you do run. Have handouts and documents from recruiters, local businesses, etc. For that matter, see if a local – or national – job board or service would want to sponsor it (oh, I'd love to see LinkedIN.com sponsor a geek networking event).
I confess it would be challenging – you'd probably need some icebreakers, and it may take a year or two to really reach a good self-perpetuating pace – but I think it's a worthy experiment. People network at conventions anyway, adding professional networking to the mix would be a good goal to have.
The benefits I see:
Again, this is more a theory of mine – but if anyone wants to try it out I'd be happy to lend some suggestions . . .
– Steven Savage