I've just come off the phone after a long conversation with a good friend. Our conversation touched on Networking and the treat/torture theme came to me through our discussions. Yesterday I hosted the York meeting of @The Women's Business Club and came away invigorated and encouraged by the meeting, and the group. I was with a group of women who I have the greatest respect for, we'd networked pleasantly and without 'competition' and we'd spent time considering business goals and objectives for the year ahead. We welcomed a new member to our midst and within minutes of her arrival she was deep in conversation with other group members. We drifted away at the end, although the meeting was over some of us were still talking, making plans to meet up, helping each other with specific issues. For me this meeting definitely falls into the 'treat' category and I know that each month I get a real buzz as I look forward to regrouping and seeing just what we've all been up to since we last met, and learning from other members of the group as we share our knowledge and experiences, freely and collaboratively.
My friend is currently looking for a new job and her need to network comes from a different place and the networks she is hooking up to have a different purpose and set of values, and some of those values would clearly make the meetings torture for me. I spoke to another friend recently, who had joined a group which meet for a full day and required all the participants to 'showcase' and give a powerful personal presentation at each meeting. She said that some of those present were absolutely dreading this aspect, with one group member making herself sick with nerves. Yet more networking groups demand that you bring referrals, in quantity, or you may be asked to leave.
For me networking has to be a positive experience - if you are attending networking events and not coming away knowing that it's been of value and enjoyable ask yourself if the networking forum is really right for you. There are so many different ways to network and the real trick is finding what works for you. I know I've found my niche, and I hope you find yours!
My friend is currently looking for a new job and her need to network comes from a different place and the networks she is hooking up to have a different purpose and set of values, and some of those values would clearly make the meetings torture for me. I spoke to another friend recently, who had joined a group which meet for a full day and required all the participants to 'showcase' and give a powerful personal presentation at each meeting. She said that some of those present were absolutely dreading this aspect, with one group member making herself sick with nerves. Yet more networking groups demand that you bring referrals, in quantity, or you may be asked to leave.
For me networking has to be a positive experience - if you are attending networking events and not coming away knowing that it's been of value and enjoyable ask yourself if the networking forum is really right for you. There are so many different ways to network and the real trick is finding what works for you. I know I've found my niche, and I hope you find yours!
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