Networking for your EWB Project

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Networking for your EWB Project

• Laura Girard
• EWB Fort Collins

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What is networking?

• Networking is the process of discovering and
  utilizing connections between people.

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Networking is

• Networking
• Makes you known
• Makes your work known
• Source of new approaches
• Different slant on old ideas
• Feedback on your work
• Form new collaborations

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Networking can get you

• Networking makes you more effective and more
  productive
• People who dont network are less likely to
  succeed!

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Networking is not

• A substitute for quality work
• Using people

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• It takes a village
• And you have to create your own.

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Creating your own village

• All Villages Need Elders
• Learn from those who came before you
• All Villages Need Regular Joes
• All Villages Need Diversity
• Learn different strokes from different folks
• All Villages Need Uniformity
• Similar folks have similar issues

John S. Davis, IBM, 2003
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Everyone can be a successfulnetworker!

• Its OK to find the prospect of networking scary
  most people do!
• Everyone has valuable connections.
• Find a networking style that is most comfortable
  for you.
• Networking is not bothering people who dont want
  to help you.
• People enjoy
• Helping others
• Talking about themselves
• A break in their routine

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Your Personal Commercial

• Your name
• Your affiliation with EWB
• Your project
• Who referred you/How you got their name
• When you are traveling
• Your area of interest
• What you are hoping to learn about/from them

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Who should you networkwith?

• Established researchers
• People who could give you good technical advice
• People working in the technical field you are
  interested in

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Who should you networkwith? (cont.)

• Your peers (the people here)
• Other projects in your country
• People you find in an internet search
• People you meet at the airport

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Who should you networkwith?

• EVERYONE, cast your net widely.

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Informal networking

• Serendipity happens talk to people you meet by
  chance
• Convey excitement about your project and you work
  and interest in theirs
• Talk to people about their lives as well as their
  work

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Informal networking (cont.)

• Ask for help when you can use it
• Offer to help out when you can
• Volunteer
• Help to build the network of others

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More formal networking

• Conferences
• Outside of conferences

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Types of Contact

• Face-to-face meetings
• Telephone calls
• Letters and notes
• Online chats and affinity groups

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Strengthen you existing connections

• Keep in touch with people you met on previous
  trips
• Send and email periodically to ask how they are
  doing
• Update them on your project
• Introduce then to other members of your team for
  continuity

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Finding new contacts

• Talk to people you already know
• Do an internet search
• Send cold emails
• Make cold calls
• Pass out business cards
• Help other people connect

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Cold contacts

• Who you are?
• What are you interested in?
• Do they know anyone who could help you?
• Be gracious

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BeforeMaking Contact

• Know the purpose of your contact
• What do you want to know?
• Know yourself
• What are your goals and interests?
• Research
• the field, organization, and individual
• Develop a script
• open-ended questions
• Practice

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State Side Hot Spots

• Professional Associations Conferences
• Regional Career Fairs Events
• Community Groups
• Family parties
• Professional Service Providers
• Trade Publications/Industry News
• Online
• Past Present Employers

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Scheduling the Meeting

• Start with closer contacts
• Contact them
• Avoid being long winded
• It is best to meet in person, though phone
  conversations work too
• Have your calendar and availability ready

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Final Tips for Your Meeting

• Be conscious of your body language
• Be conscious of local customs
• Try and leave the meeting with three new contacts

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Follow Up

• Find a way to stay in touch
• Maintain
• Send people and information their way
• Make arrangements to meet next time you are there

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When should you network

• Plan to spend a day or two upon arrival meeting
  with your contacts
• Start networking in country for the next phase of
  your project
• -How About Today!

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This weekend at the conference

• Who might be here that you want to meet?

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This weekend at the conference

• What do you want to talk to them about?
• Listen to presentations, write down questions
• Ask why/how they started project, where they got
  solutions
• Integrate your work and interests into
  conversation

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This weekend at the conference

• Wear your badge visibly
• Speak! (Dont just stand there)
• Participate in full group discussions
• Talk with speakers after their presentation
• If youre the speaker, hang around afterwards
• Talk to the person sitting next to you

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This weekend at the conference

• Make lunch/dinner plans
• Participate in hall talk
• Attend social activities Happy Hour!
• Get your friends to introduce you
• Get people youve just met to introduce you
  introduce them
• Talk to people who come up to you

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This weekend at the conference

• Make plans for FOLLOW UP
• After meeting someone
• Write down the next step
• Write down technical tips
• Write down what you owe whom/what they owe you

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At the Conference Donts

• Dont hang around with your friends
• Dont interrupt heavy or private technical
• conversations
• Dont be overly negative/critical
• Dont hang on to a conversation too long
• Dont put too much stock in a single, short
  conversation
• Dont get discouraged

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After the conference

• FOLLOW UP!!!!
• Send them your related papers, Ask for theirs
• Actually read them! Send them comments
• Share software, resources, contacts
• Do joint work together

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Other networking opportunities

• Go to workshops
• Sign up to talk to seminar speakers in your
  department
• Use your contacts to get new contacts
• Cold e-mail? Papers?
• Use electronic media professionally
• Join a social group

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But Im horrible at small talk!
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But Im horrible at small talk!

• Its not genetic, its a skill.
• Practice.
• And Smile!

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When you are connected connect others who
arent.

• Its not what you know its who you know
• What comes around goes around
• Its a small world after all
• - all those clichés will come to be truth in
  your life

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Final thoughts

• Keep your network active and growing
• Pass on your contacts to ensure project continuity

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• You will have great opportunities to network
  here,
• USE THEM!
• And dont forget the FOLLOW UP!

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Acknowledgements

• Lori A. Clarke, Computer Science Department,
  University of Massachusetts, Amherst
• Jan Cuny, National Science Foundation