#49 Nix Your Networking Fears

When I say the word networking, what is your reaction?

Do you instantly feel nervous? Confused? Overwhelmed? 

If you are presented with an opportunity to go to a networking event, do you start thinking up excuses to get out of it?

If the answer is yes, you are in good company. Most of the emerging HR practitioners I talk to have a fear of networking and I was one of them. Despite being extroverted, I am a shy person and I do not like approaching people I don’t know and making small talk with them. I would only attend networking events if I knew other people were going and I could talk to them. As soon as I was left on my own I would head to the washroom or go home. Attending networking events was just not my scene. 

But, I also knew that it was essential to a successful HR career and in fact, it is still essential to my career as a professor and consultant. So, I knew early on in my career I had to figure out how to get over my fear and embrace this important activity and overcome my fear. 

If you can relate to my experience this episode is for you. Today I am going to share why I think people (like me) have a fear of networking and share a couple of tips to help you move past this fear so that you can take advantage of all the benefits networking can offer to your HR career. 

Here are the four reasons I believe people fear networking:

1. They don’t understand the point of networking.
2. They don’t know where to start or what to do.
3. They don’t know who to network with.
4. They fear the rejection that might come with it.

In this episode, I share two core tips to help you overcome your fear of networking:

1. Reframing what networking is.
2. Knowing who to network with.

Here are some helpful links and resources to help you on your networking journey:

• Episode 8: The Importance of Making Connections
• Episode 9: Interview with Dean Lemphers Part 1
• Episode 48: Follow Your Passion with Sarah Wade
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