“The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know”

– Albert Einstein

Doing a professional networking is the way you see the world. It’s the same like you open the next page of your book to discover more and more. You can find your mentor, your business partner, your investors, your new opportunities by doing this. The best part, maybe you can discover yourself!

Here are the things that might help you while starting doing professional networking. We compiled this based on experience, so we learn together.

This is an open source file, feel free to add more, update, and discuss! 😀

Controls

In any professional conversation, there are certain elements that you can control; for example how you respond, and there are certain elements that cannot be; for example how they respond.

Take a look on this table below. There are things that you can and can’t control.

Things to remember:

• You can manage what you control  
• Don’t worry about how the audience reacts, that’s their business
• Your business is how you respond

How to start a professional networking?

LinkedIn Profile

• For the first step, you can use Jing’s LinkedIn Profile to start your professional networking.

• Here is some reasons why do we use Jing’s LinkedIn Profile:
  • Premium Account, it has premium features to help you access wider the professional networking world
  • Title, Jing is the CEO of Bukit Vista
  • Engagement Rate and Account Awareness, it’s a super-active account since it’s accessed everyday, based on the activities (e.g posts, comments, like), Jing’s connection already wide, and profile viewers

• If you have already had a strong LinkedIn account and you are confidence with it, you can try to use your own account. You can start to connect with the mentors from your account and you can introduce them to Jing as well. But if you are still building your LinkedIn account, you can use Jing’s account first. Time by time, your profile will be strengthen and you can start your own networking. Make sure you have his permission to use his account 😉

Audience Selection

• Audience Selection is under our control. You can find a good and right one, but sometimes maybe you will get a zonk. Preventing yourself from getting a zonk, here are some points you can consider when you choose a mentor:
  • Select an audience that you want to connect with based on your mission
    • You can filter them from the search engine
    • Join a webinar and connect with the speakers
    • Article based
    • Company’s alumni/talent link
  • Don’t be manipulated by the numbers
• Even though a high number of connections might be a good point, but you need to check the background closer
  • Do the background check
    • Check their career progress
    • Check their achievements
    • Credibility of their previous company
    • Education background
    • Search their name on Google, look what you will find

PS:

These method will not guarantee you to be 100% successful in finding the right and good mentor. That might be a fail-fast situation which will make you learn and be more aware. We will know after the meeting is begun, you will know where to stop, and it’s totally fine.

There is also a chance to help others first, when you find the audience isn’t the person you are looking for but s/he might be perfect for your team from the other chapter who carries another mission, you can keep connect and collaborate with your team.

Messaging – Self Introduction

• If you use Jing’s account, you need to introduce yourself as Jing
• Make sure you know who’s your audience well
  • From C-level
  • Senior/Expert
  • Mere employee
• Make your message is brief and packed
  • Reasons why you want to connect with them
    • +Targeting Letter

• Here are several examples how you approach your audience. You can make your own style and snippet. The most important thing is you deliver the message well.

• If the audience isn’t responded to your message, you don’t need to be anxious. You can keep pivoting and send message to the other audiences while evaluating your message that you have sent to your seniors.

Messaging – Follow Up Message

• If your message is replied, it might be directed to these possibilities:
  • Converted to a meeting
• If the audience responses your message positively and interested in having a discussion, then congratulations! But maybe it’s too early to celebrate since you still don’t know about their capacity.
• Some of them will ask you more about the company background and the objective of the upcoming discussion, some of them will not, and the other might give you a response for a paid discussion. For the paid discussion, it will be based on your needs.
• You can give A/B options for scheduling a meeting. Don’t forget to ask their email.
• The more detail of how to arrange a meeting will be written down below.
• *put example if needed*
  • Unconverted meeting
• A reply can be a refusal for the meeting. At some point, they will explain their reasons. We have to respect their reasons and don’t force them.
  • No response after their reply
• After the first reply and we follow up their message, it’s possible if they don’t reply us. If they show any positive sign at the first time, you can reach them back again, maybe they’re busy. The best possibility is, it will be converted to a meeting, and the worst part is, they’re not getting back to us anymore.

How to arrange a meeting?

Meeting Journey

• Pre-meeting
  • Timing – Different timezone

• Find a good timing for you and the audience. If the audience comes from another country and have a different timezone, you can check it on https://savvytime.com/converter
  • A lot of the North America calls will either be early morning or late evening here in WITA
  • European calls work better in our afternoon
  • Channel

• We have several channels that can be used for the professional networking, we can choose which one will work better for our meeting. It’s easy on the audience side and our side.
  • Google Meet (https://meet.google.com/jdd-ipgw-awq)
  • Whereby (whereby.com/bukitvista)
  • Zoom
  • Attendees
    • Jing
    • Based on the audience’s background
      • The organizer
      • Aligned with your mission: your team member (max. 2 persons)
    • Invite through Google Calendar, arrange 2 meeting:
      • A briefing
      • The meeting
  • Messaging – Preparing Audience’s Profile and Questions List
• After you do the background check before, you can gather the information of the audience in a paper. This will make the other attendees understand better.
  • Set the keynotes or the objective of your meeting
    • +Burcu Atay Sahin – Customer Success Lead at Sojern
    • +Most Important DM Feasibility Questions
  • Briefing
• The briefing is held 30 mins or 15 mins before your meeting with the audience. We discuss about the questions, who will lead and the flow of the meeting.

ps.

Please announce your meeting on Slack at #professional-networking channel to avoid any overlapped meeting with others.

• Meeting
• The first meeting will make your heart racing especially when you never do this thing before. This is an important time since you will know whether they will be the right mentor or not. No need to worry, you don’t need to impress your audience, focus on your learning, make your curiosity as a fuel.
• Things you should remember:
  • Remind your mentor 15 mins before your meeting
  • Don’t forget to record the meeting use QuickTime Player
  • At the end of the meeting, you can take a screenshot together!

• Post meeting
  • Debrief
    • Evaluate
    • If you didn’t feel like you networked well, analyze what went wrong
      • Did you select the right audience?
      • Did you ask the right questions?
      • Did you pick the right timing?
      • Did you choose the right message?
      • Did you choose the right channel?
    • Your take away of the meeting
      • Things you learn → better improvement
      • Implemented method
      • New initiative born
  • Messaging – Gratitude message
    • Send a gratitude message to them after the meeting finished
      • Thank them for their time
      • Thank them for the insightful ideas
  • Connect with your personal LinkedIn
    • Introduce your own self
    • Show them your gratitude as well
  • Post an article on your personal LinkedIn
    • Post with a screenshot you took
    • Tagged your mentor, Jing, your team member, and Bukit Vista on the pics and your article
    • Give a short summary of your meeting
    • Make it educative yet attractive
  • Make a record/track list from your networking
    • +Networking List
    • From the video that has been recorded, you can evaluate yourself such as your body language, the way you speak (e.g your tone, your eyes, the words that you use), so you can be better on the next meeting
  • Bonus
    • If the audience shares your article
      • Say thank you
      • If you are luck, you can find another new mentor or they will find you!

Personal Benefit

• Personal Growth
• Strengthen LinkedIn’s profile
• Have many connections and new friends
• A chance to connect with people around the world
• New perspective from people around the world

Materials

• Source Papers
  • +Professional Networking
  • +The Basic of Professional Networking – Bukit Vista style

• Website

• http://utas.libguides.com/SystematicReviews/FormulateQuestion
  • TEDTalk and LI Videos