So when you think networking…..you think summer internships, coffee chats with recruiters, business gurus, jobs, employment,,,right?
So I guess it makes sense when I say I love networking people think I’m crazy, I get it 😛 I got into “networking” when I started to meet lots of people in the activist space and people would say how I know so many people. Then I realized my ability to make and maintain connections with people in activism is something I’m strong with, super passionate about, and super important for activism.
Then in high school, during my “business” era, we were taught about the importance of networking, and I was like, I’m already ahead of all these business bros AND I’m making the world a better place.
So it makes sense why for most people, “networking” means being transactionally nice in return for better job prospects, my version of networking is not career/job/employment centric at all. If it was, I would probably receive way more messages from recruiters, but I don’t, because that’s not what I’m all about.
All these LinkedIn connections and followers aren’t for the job. If they were, I would be doing things very differently. They are for the love of people and a better world. I’m here to connect with likeminded talented and diverse people, learn from them, and also support and work together. I guess, networking is basically like making friends but better because you don’t go in with any expectation of friendship 🙂
The job market is HARD right now. It is also very humbling. Believe me when I say, no matter how qualified you are you will still get rejected! It feels just like college applications all over again, you’re qualified enough and got rejected but have to remember that it doesn’t determine your worth because you know who you are!!!
A lot of people network on LinkedIn with the hopes of better job prospects, which definitely exist to a certain extent, but as someone with a huge network, let me say there is only so much you can do. Which goes to say that networking is about more than just jobs, because life is about more than just jobs. Pretty funny to say on a platform centered on the job search, I know.
Even as career ambitious as we all might be, we have to remember that we are more than our jobs and career. There is so much to all of us that can’t be articulated in a LinkedIn post or section of your LinkedIn profile.