Networking isn’t just for corporate people in business suits, it’s a handy skill to master as a designer! In this episode we discuss our experience with networking and share our best tips for finding the right people to talk to, and making the most of the connection.
Think of networking not as forming business contacts, but as friendship. Just like friendship, it involves both give and take, and a mutual interest in something.
It’s great to build your network by talking to people online. It’s a stress-free way to get to know someone and have a conversation, and it means you’ll already have a starting point when you meet in person at an event (or a reason to ask them out to coffee if you visit their city!).
Don’t wait to start networking. It takes time to form relationships, so the sooner you start the better! It doesn’t matter if you’re a newbie, get out there and start talking to people in your field.
00:00 - Intro & catch up
05:00 - Thinking of networking as making new friends
08:45 - Networking online
11:00 - Forcing networking vs meeting naturally
13:10 - Inviting strangers for coffee
18:05 - Finding the people to network with online
22:10 - Networking at university
26:40 - Being prepared to meet someone
29:20 - Last words of advice
