How a Professional Networking Course Can Help Your Career
We all know networking is an essential career skill. But is a professional networking course worth the investment? Can’t you just google it?!
Most networking advice out there is the "Just do it" variety.
Like "Just get in shape!” 🤷♀️🧐
You know that to get in shape—and stay there—you need the right mindset, strategy, and daily habits.
The same is true with networking.
It’s not enough to understand why networking is important or technically how to do it.
In order to get the most out of networking, you need to understand who to talk to, what to say, and how to turn networking into a habit you actually enjoy.
And that’s where the benefits of taking a professional networking course come in.
Most People Hate Networking
One of the things I’ve learned as a career coach is that networking is almost universally reviled.
We know it’s the best way to find new job opportunities that aren't posted and have people create bespoke opportunities just for us.
We also know that relationships are the key to ongoing success once we're in the dream career.
We know we’re supposed to network.
But most people still don’t like networking—because it FEELS bad.
And as long as networking feels bad, we're just not going to do it. Or we'll drag ourselves through it. But it's not going to get us the results we want.
In a recent LinkedIn poll, 82% said networking is “vitally important” for finding a new job. And 73% said they had been previously hired through networking.
But 51% of those same respondents reported that they’d avoided a social event because they felt ashamed, uneasy, and embarrassed about being out of work.
Y’all.
If we feel bad, OF COURSE we’re going to avoid networking conversations.
And even if we’re gainfully employed, all sorts of limiting beliefs crop up to keep us from taking the networking steps we know are good for us.
Which leads us to the first of 5 benefits of a professional networking course…
Benefit #1: Mastering Your Mindset
The first benefit of a professional networking course is that it gives you the time and space to understand what’s truly getting in the way of having powerful conversations.
Like everything else in your career, the journey to mastering networking starts with your mindset.
Raise your hand if you:
Dread the awkwardness of that initial reach out
Struggle to talk about what you want because you’re still not clear yourself
Don't want to waste people’s time (or your own!)
Feel weird talking about yourself or asking for help
Aren’t sure how to reciprocate, follow up, or keep the relationship going
Can’t stand the idea of superficial chit-chat or conversations that lead nowhere
All valid concerns.
All driven by limiting beliefs about what a networking conversation is supposed to look like.
The key to authentic, effective networking is having the conversations you want to have.
And the first step is unpacking the untrue stories, worries, and anxieties that stop you before you even get started.
Benefit #2: Shifting From Tactical To Strategic
Most people approach networking really tactically.
I call this navigating—when you’re essentially using a conversation to leapfrog to a very specific thing you want versus laying the groundwork for a long-term, mutually-beneficial relationship.
We’ve all done it. But it doesn’t feel great. And it’s a missed opportunity.
I talk more here about how this simple shift will transform your networking conversations.
But deciding to trade in transactional exchanges for meaningful relationships is easier said than done.
How do you follow up after the first date? How do you reciprocate? How do you talk about what you want in your career without asking for a job?
All good questions that depend on your specific circumstances, goals, and personal style, which is what motivated me to launch a professional networking course of my own to help people like you design a strategy that works for you.
Benefit #3: Are Your Conversations Enjoyable and Fruitful?
“But Caroline, I’m not shy about networking and I enjoy connecting with new people.”
Awesome. How helpful have those conversations been in actually creating the career opportunities you want?
I talk to lots of Extroverts who meet lots of people and have lots of great conversations.
But they also tell me that they often don’t lead to deeper relationships or tangible outcomes.
One of the biggest benefits of a professional networking course is giving you the strategy, focus, and “why” behind your conversations to make your already-enjoyable conversations fruitful.
There’s a difference between having great conversations and having great conversations with the people best-positioned to support you in your career.
Benefit #4: Networking Is an Art and a Science
The art of networking tells us to focus on quality over quantity.
The science of networking tells us it’s a numbers game.
One of the people in my networking course has 4-5 networking conversations per week!!
Others aim for 1 per week or even 2-3 per month.
The right frequency and cadence depends on what FEELS good, the strength and positioning of your current network, and where you’re trying to go.
And the benefit of a professional networking course is having a framework to define the right balance of art and science for you.
Benefit #5: Instantly Expand Your Network
This may be obvious, but just in case…
Your network will grow exponentially just by joining a course of diverse leaders committed to creating a fulfilling career and life they love.
I’m lucky that my course attracts people from all different geographies, industries, roles, and career stages.
One of the results I’m proudest of is when the cohort decides to keep meeting on their own after the course ends.
Yes, professional networking courses are great for teaching you stuff, designing your strategy, and helping you overcome roadblocks.
But you also meet amazing people you’d never cross paths with otherwise.
This is the power of “weak ties”—the people our network knows but we don’t.
Weak ties are where the networking magic happens: we get exposed to new ways of thinking and new opportunities outside of our bubble that we’d never have imagined on our own.
The Benefits of a Professional Networking Course
The benefits of a professional networking course go so far beyond networking.
It’s about showing up confidently and powerfully in allllll your conversations, feeling good about asking for what you want, building a team of people who actively support you, and getting better results in your career with more ease.
Raise your hand if you want more of that. 🙋♀️
Building successful relationships is ultimately about leadership.
When you learn how to lead more effectively, and show up as your best freakin' self, everything flows from that.
The good news is that there’s no single right way to network (despite what the internet tells you).
But there are strategies to leverage and expand the power of your network. And ways to make it—dare I say—fun.
If you’re ready to start networking with authenticity and ease, check out my 6-week online professional networking course. You’ll learn who to talk to, what to say, and how to turn networking into a habit you actually enjoy.
Author Bio:
Before becoming a coach, Caroline had a successful career in management consulting and financial services. She's made it her mission to help people grow, contribute, and get wherever they want to go in their careers.
Caroline wants people to recognize how much power they truly have to define their careers. The life and career you want really is possible once you have the roadmap. Take the first step by downloading her free 4-step career roadmap.
