Networking vs Community
A fresh look at networking as more than a transactional tool
I have regularly encountered differing opinions about networking and attending networking events.
Peoples’ opinions on attending networking events can be divided into three categories:
I find them useful
I am not the sort of person who does well at them
I’ll build my network when I need to find new opportunities
Although making a conscious effort to build networks does not always feel necessary, particularly when it does not feel comfortable to, the results can be positive beyond what was planned for.
Misconceptions
Networking is often viewed as a transactional practice, that is done for utility and each participant’s professional gain.
Corporate Approaches
Something that could have influenced this perspective is an association with events held by corporate companies, where employees often make connections immediately leading to clients, customers or partnerships.
Context is key here and someone working at a large management consultancy may have their company time monitored for financial productivity, so a corporate event will be useful for them.
One approach to networking however, does not define the practice as a whole.
Startup Approaches
Working cultures outside of the corporate world benefit from networking events too.
My career has primarily been based in small <10 people startups where connections and knowing people in your field is invaluable.
For example, small teams regularly outsource technical deliverables to consultants, freelancers and even hire people permanently on a part-time basis.
Getting to know people when working in startups typically involves more informal networking events and time spent in co-working spaces.
Saving time is critical in startups, and knowing someone already, or knowing people who may know someone you’re looking for can increase the likelihood of finding someone who is a good fit for the role you are hiring for.
Being in a small team can shift the approach to meeting people from conventional networking to being part of a community.
Life-Long Relationships
Regardless of what field or industry you work in, life-long relationships are a key driver for success in all walks of life including professional.
As an exercise, think of a time where:
You helped someone gain a high-value opportunity
Someone helped you gain a high-value opportunity
There is a strong likelihood that in both instances the relationship between you and the other was built on trust.
If it was not, there is a stronger likelihood that trust has been built after the help was given.
Building Relationships
Understanding the value of relationships is important, however building them should not be done for personal gain.
Building professional relationships may seem like a lot of effort that you will only gain value from in the future, but the motivation to build and strengthen them should be driven to help and provide value to others.
A practical set of steps to change your approach to networking events includes the following.
Finding Events
If going to events does not feel natural to you a good starting point could be:
Contact some people in your industry to ask if they’re going to any events in the next month or quarter in your area
Keep an eye on platforms like LinkedIn to see if people in your field post about going to an event
Look online at key venues in your area that regularly host events. For example in London the ExCeL centre regularly holds large events and their website will show which ones are on
Invite and Share With Others
In the same way that you may find out about an event from someone on LinedIn, sharing that you are going to an event is going to help others in the same way.
You can also consider sharing privately to people you know who may be a great match for the event you have found.
This is a great opportunity to build on relationships you already have, catchup with people you could have lost-touch with and most importantly provided value to people already by bringing it to their attention.
Focus on Providing Value
It is normal to have a period of your career where you’re interested in being connected to specific people, who can help you with immediate priorities such as:
Changing job
Raising money
Finding clients
Many people will make their priorities their main agenda for conversations at a networking event.
Doing so will neglect other conversations that will be valuable to you in the future, and more importantly conversations that can help others.
Providing value does not necessarily mean giving someone a job opportunity, they can be gestures that cost you nothing and go a long way.
These can be as simple as:
Connecting someone at an event to someone in your network
Providing information on something you have had experience in
Following a project or company of someone’s on social media
I cannot emphasise enough how the motivation to provide value should not be based on gaining value in return.
Providing value because you believe in doing good things will lead to gaining value in return as a bi-product.
There is a science to what may feel like an economy of goodwill, and the best comprehensive analysis I have found is the book “Give and Take” by Adam Grant.
Be Human
To do anything well and regularly requires it to have some enjoyable aspects.
If appropriate, having fun conversations that do not always have a clear work agenda show a human side to you and prove you are not there to seek value for yourself only.
I go to a regularly held event that is niche and based on my industry. It is held every few months and each time I go, I enjoy catching-up with people including an engineer who I met at one of the events.
The conversations I have with that engineer in particular are 10% about work and 90% about similar interests such as food and travelling.
That engineer contacted me shortly after one of the events and shared a career opportunity from one of their clients who I ended up working with.
I am not suggesting all conversations at networking events should minimise work-related topics, but expressing yourself as more than someone who is just looking to further their career will show a human side to you that people may find refreshing.
Community Mindset
When authentically caring about people in your field, networking becomes less transactional and more of a participation in communities.
A community in the traditional sense helps those that are part of it, when made up of people who care about its wellbeing as a collective.
As mentioned earlier, events are not the only way to meet people and build relationships.
Working in a co-working space is a great way to meet people who are not necessarily in your company but see how you work and are kept in the loop with what projects you are working on.
Co-working spaces quite often hold events or free trials, so it is worth following a few on platforms like LinkedIn to be up to date on any offers.
People in the tech community are often part of online forums on platforms like Discord and Reddit, which have the advantage of interacting with people in other locations that you would not be able to meet at in-person events.
Refine Your Approach
At the beginning of the article I split up peoples’ typical approaches to networking.
Taking what we have discussed into account, it is worth revisiting them for final thoughts on how to improve their approaches.
I Am Not the Sort of Person Who Does Well at Them
Several people do not feel comfortable or natural going to events in-person, however there are benefits to interacting with people in real life compared to online.
It is also an opportunity for people who do not feel comfortable, to build interpersonal skills and see communication as the hard skill that it is.
It is worth going to events without putting any pressure on their immediate outcome, you lose nothing and have everything to gain from putting yourself out there.
I’ll Build My Network When I Need to Find New Opportunities
You wouldn’t pick up healthy habits when you need to be in better health - you would adopt sustainable healthy habits over a long period of time.
Going to events regularly and focusing on providing value will having compounding benefits overtime.
The people you helped would see you regularly and are more likely to think of you first if they come across potential opportunities.
Networking when you do not need to will mean you have a community of people who are much more likely to help you when you do, than if you were to adopt a transactional mindset to networking.
Even if your career has never benefited from a community, having one opens doors for you and you never know where life may take you.
For example, you may work in a job for 10 years, and decide you want to start your own firm - planting the seed years before you even thought about starting your own business would have come in extremely useful at the time of starting.
It’s never too late to start though.