Insights from Head of Coaching

It’s time for some new perspectives on networking.
 

Within the HBR podcast below (and the attached transcript), Heidi Roizen, Stanford MBA grad, former CEO and entrepreneur, shares her insights into this useful activity, which can nonetheless intimidate some ambitious international students (maybe even you?), through what she calls “building a relationship-driven life.” Roizen is the first to admit that the usual concept of event networking, for example, is not particularly appealing, in saying that “it’s good to build relationships with other people, and to build them based on mutual respect…trust…a level of honesty, and all of these things that it aren’t about gathering the most names.”
 

https://hbr.org/podcast/2024/11/tried-and-true-networking-tips-from-decades-of-experience
 

Ten key points for aspiring talent like you and your friends, among the many ideas worth sharing from this interview:
 

• Roizen highlights the virtues of your emphasizing quality, vs. quantity, of relationships established, when confronted by a sea of faces at a conference.
• While most aspiring professionals (hopefully you 🙂) have the “common sense,” as Roizen puts it, to not immediately ask new contacts for favors (such as referring you for jobs, reviewing your resume, or introducing you to internal executives), she encourages even aspiring talents like you to consider what you, personally, may have to offer to a prospective contact (as Western relationships are built on reciprocity).
• Even as a student, your commanding respect, through self-awareness and self-marketing savvy, is key (and she highlights the importance of LinkedIn). “Make yourself easy to find,” Roizen recommends.
• Personalize communications, assessing why an individual might feel they should take the time to build a relationship with you, and don’t over-rely on AI, as Roizen maintains: “I still do not think AI captures your unique human personality.”
• Ironically, make it easy for someone to say “no.” Sometimes you may happen to reach a desired contact when they aren’t in a position to establish a connection. Yet, try, and try again, since “timing is everything.” Some of the best relationships take time to get off the ground.
• Identify how a new contact prefers to communicate. This means that aspiring talent like you and your peers should not default to texting, for example, although it may seem most efficient to you, when establishing a relationship.
• Embrace the concept of “controlled randomness.” Roizen advises attending events, “where you can distinguish yourself, if you actually do the work, by getting to know the other people in your industry through that work.”
• Seek out opportunities to express gratitude. As ambitious international students like you have much to be thankful for, why not enlist your coach in helping you think creatively, to recognize individuals who may be worthy of appreciation, in contributing to your journey?
• As Roizen concedes, “So much of this is in the way you do something.” Simply put, “…continue to build the connective tissue between you and the other people that you value.”
• Start small. If the idea of adding 50 LinkedIn connections within the next month is too overwhelming, you could set a more manageable goal, and celebrate any developing relationships along the way.