GenYNetworking.com

Networking: Speed Dating or Relationship Building?

When researching for this blog, I typically try to look at websites that offer advice for Generation Y job candidates outside of my field, so I was reading How to Get Your First Tech Job – It’s Not What You Think. The article, an answer to a question from a reader, had lots of great advice. But one thought from writer Bob Lewis disturbed me. He says, “Last bit of guidance for the job search: Don’t ever call this process ‘networking.’ The word is overused, is dehumanizing, and sounds manipulative. You’re just meeting as many people in the industry as you can.”

I know there are lots of people who see networking in this way: overused, dehumanizing and manipulative. In fact, I know lots of people who actually network in this way. They see it only as a means to get a job or get ahead. The networking I have done has helped me get a job and several internships, but my attempt to build relationships with people in my industry has never been anything but genuine.

What disturbs me is that our society lets those who abuse networking own this word and attach negative connotation to it. I’m also disturbed by Lewis saying it’s just “meeting as many people in the industry as you can.” That doesn’t sound genuine to me either. What about meeting the right people, people you can help or people you have a lot in common with in your industry? Meeting as many people as you can sounds like speed dating, not relationship building.

In an older post I highly recommend, Don’t Be a Networking Jerk – Six Rules for True Connections, Keith Ferrazzi says, “If you’re not making friends while connecting, best to resign yourself to dealing with people who don’t care much about what happens to you.” I see networking similarly to making friends, but what makes networking a bit different is that it is often with people who work in an industry connected to mine and it’s often with people of different generations (although networking with your peers is important, too). But the line between making friends and networking should definitely be a blurry one.

I blog at GenYNetworking.com, so I obviously have no problem with the term “networking” as Lewis does. I think we simply need to take back the word through our actions. I have witnessed networking truly work when the desire to reach out to others is authentic. A few simple ways Gen Y can do that:

• Meet with people you can help, not just with those that can help you
• Build your network overtime and stay in touch with them
• Think of networking as a lifestyle rather than the means to an end goal

Do you think networking is more like speed dating or relationship building? Is the term networking unappealing to Gen Y? Do you have other suggestions of how we can take this term back?