It’s conference season! That means travel to new places,
listening to great talks, free beer at poster sessions, and…networking! Last month, I talked about why you need a
network and who needs to be in your network, and the fact that despite the
importance of this activity, it’s one that we often dread. If you are one of
the few people who get super excited at the mention of networking, then no need
to read on. For the rest of us, why do we find networking so intimidating,
scary, or vaguely unpleasant? The three
reasons I hear most often are:
- you might be an introvert
- they might be rude
- it just feels sort of “icky”
The first point is something I’ll tackle next month with
some really practical tips for striking up conversations and building
relationships. The second point is
something that I can’t help you with, but I will say that the majority of
senior scientists do genuinely enjoy interacting with others in their field,
especially students, postdocs, and young faculty. And if they don’t enjoy this, most have
enough social grace to fake it well. This
leaves us with the third point. I hear
from many young scientists that they feel self-conscious when networking
because they’re afraid that the person they’re talking with will think they
just want something. Sometimes (but certainly not always) networking is
transactional, as you might want to apply for a postdoc in the person’s lab,
hope that they would nominate you for an award, or need to ask them for advice
or mentoring. So, how do you go about this without it feeling “icky”?
Recognize that
transactions aren’t always bad.
Buying food at the grocery store is a transaction, and we don’t feel guilty
about that. Why? Partly because everyone
knows that food is something you need in order to live. Similarly, there are some professional
opportunities you need for your career to thrive, and senior people in your
field are aware of this and generally want to help when they can. A second key aspect of why buying food at the
grocery store doesn’t make us feel bad is that you…
Pay it back (or
forward). If someone is helping you
out, you may have the opportunity to return the favor sometime in the
future. This may be pretty far off if
you are still a grad student or postdoc, but you can certainly pay things
forward by helping the people who are your peers or junior to you. Offer to read and edit manuscript drafts for
your colleagues, participate in outreach, serve as a mentor to an undergraduate
or high school student. Be the type of
person who is always looking for ways to help those around you, and you’ll feel
much less disingenuous when you need to ask others for help. Also, people will be more inclined to help
you out if they know that you are the type of person who pays it forward. (If
you’re interested in the psychology behind this, I highly suggest Adam Grant’s
book Give and Take).
Stand on your merit. Meeting someone and making a good
impression can get your foot in the door, but recognize that this is not the
whole deal. You still need to stand on
the strength of your merit to get what you want. For example, if you are looking for postdoc
positions, making a good impression during a poster session could get you an
interview. But, it is the strength of your CV, your ability to present your
research articulately, and your future ideas that will most likely land you the
actual position. When you network with a
specific purpose, you might be asking for opportunities to show people your
accomplishments and capabilities, but you will still be the one earning what
you want based upon your hard work and creativity.
Build a relationship. It feels awkward to ask someone you don’t
know for a letter of recommendation or award nomination. That’s
because it is awkward. When at all
possible, take time to build a relationship before you ask someone for
help. Remember, there are lots of types
of people in your network – Champions are generally the people of whom you make
an “ask.” But, you also need to have Mentees, Peers, Mentors, and Models in
your network, and your Champions are often people who you already have a
relationship with in one of these other roles.
Next month, we’ll get super practical with tips on how to initiate
and maintain these relationships. This will lead you in building a diverse
network of people who can help you, people that you can help, and hopefully
make conference season even more fun!
The mountain is high but it's not too steep; the battle is rough, but I not too weak, and I won't turn back Oh No! I won't turn back. O the road is hard, but it's not too long, and the enemy is near, but he's not that strong, and I won't turn back; Oh No! I won't turn back. Abcya || Y8 ||Friv
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