9 Critical Networking Skills You Need to Learn In 2022
Publié le 20 June 2022
Expand your professional network and connect with like-minded professionals using 9 critical networking skills you need to learn in 2022.
Whatever industry you work in or job role you hold, networking skills are always going to be essential to furthering your career. From employees working in digital marketing strategizing, and team product development, to management roles and company leaders, networking connects you with the people in your teams and departments. Your ability to network informs how these people can shape your professional future and the career opportunities they can open for you.
Networking can lead to new job roles, learning opportunities, and friendships, giving your career a boost in the right direction. However, simply being around other people isn’t enough to make this happen. Having the networking skills for both professional and personal environments is needed first, requiring some learning about them and practice of using them. These are 9 critical networking skills you need to learn in 2022 to help you to make the most of your experiences and advance your career.
Why Are Networking Skills Important?
Any skill that can help you to build relationships and seek opportunities can be classed as networking skills. These create connections with the people you interact with, from coworkers, managers, and business partners you’ve discovered when finding affiliates. Through these connections, opportunities become available and by putting yourself forward, you can direct your career in the direction you want.
Networking is essential for discovering new opportunities. These can come through finding mentors and gaining advice from those succeeding in your industry, adding to those who can vouch for your character and ability, and developing the all-round skills needed to work well in the roles you want. By networking, you become more aware of the options open in your industry, as well as making others more likely to offer new positions and projects to you.
These skills are also useful within the workplace and in your existing roles. From making you an easier person to work with, improving your team communication skills, to shaping your workplace culture, networking skills bring people together to help each other. This can be helpful when working with partner businesses as well, setting an example of how your company functions and creating a good impression that encourages partners to work with you.
9 Critical Networking Skills You Need to Learn in 2022
Although many different networking skills will benefit you, these are a good place to start. The following 9 critical networking skills you need to learn in 2022 cover a range of aspects of networking, including your attitude along with how you interact with the people around you. As you improve your networking, you may learn new networking skills and further develop existing ones. These improve your ability to maintain and seek new contacts within your private and personal network.
- Communication
Networking is about working with other people, something that’s impossible without good communication. Knowing how to communicate with different people, using the right tone and approach for the situation, as well as effectively delivering your message all require learning and practicing communication skills. These can be verbal or using digital communication channels, presenting in different ways in combination with non-verbal skills and digital etiquette.
Before diving into a conversation, know what you want to say, why you’re saying it, and what sort of response you need from it. For example, when asking about the best affiliate tracking software, you’re looking for recommendations in response to benefit your business or complement your existing collaborations. This gives purpose to your conversations and ensures you leave with answered questions. Should your conversation end whilst still unresolved, make sure to follow it up later.
- Active Listening
Building networks is a two-way street, not only focusing on you and your career but also on the people you’re networking with. Actively listening to others shows you want to hear their perspective and can provide you with a better understanding of situations, requiring fewer follow-up queries. This skill is useful when being directed by others, as well as when looking for team involvement, making sure that instructions are properly understood and can be carried out.
When others are speaking, try not to be thinking of what you’re going to respond with. Instead, make eye contact and give them your full attention. Particularly in employee mentoring sessions, ask clarifying questions based on what your mentor has been saying. Not only does this improve your comprehension of what’s discussed, but this shows your engagement in what is said, along with your interest in the expertise and advice of others.
- Non-Verbal Communication
How people present and express themselves non-verbally can be just as telling as verbal communication. Learning to pick up on the non-verbal signs of others, as well as use non-verbal communication yourself can amplify your ability to understand others and show your intentions. This includes facial expressions, postures, gestures, and body language, which tell how people are feeling, how they want their words to be interpreted and provide social cues.
In meetings, networking events, or on projects, consider what your non-verbal communication says. Maintain eye contact, use your hands when explaining, and have an open body posture to create a positive attitude. Likewise, notice the body language and facial expressions of others, emphasizing when they’re confused, distracted, or interested. This can inform your interactions and response, anticipating any miscommunication and rectifying it.
- Respect
To build trust and encourage recommendations from those you network with, you need to show respect for them. Even if they aren’t your superiors, how you treat people reflects on your character. It also makes a lasting impression, so having a bad day with a coworker may affect other team members’ willingness to network with you in the future. This also extends to your treatment of customers and clients, showing respect even when they make difficult requests.
You can show respect through your interactions with other people. For example, ensuring you respond promptly to messages to partners within your affiliate marketing campaign, paying attention when others speak in meetings, and talking highly of them when they are not around to others, are all effective ways to show you appreciate the people you have around you. In return, your network will be more willing to suggest you for opportunities, knowing you will make a good impression on them.
- Feedback
To take risks and open yourself up to opportunities, you need to cope when things don’t turn out as planned. This could be on projects that don’t receive the expected customer response or when asking for something and the answer is no. Even on successful projects, feedback can improve your projects and make features more useful. Being able to take feedback and reflect on what’s happened helps you to find room to improve next time.
Recognizing that feedback isn’t necessarily a personal attack helps you to act on it for the better. Also, the ability to give feedback for projects or schemes shows evaluation skills and an eye for improvement. Feedback can be used to channel into new referral program ideas or create new marketing strategies, seeing delays or mistakes as constructive opportunities.
- Confidence
Getting to know new people and creating networks takes confidence. This skill can benefit you in multiple areas of your life and career, but particularly in seeking what you want. People within your networks may have opportunities or job positions you would be ideal for, but unless you ask for them and explain why you’d suit them, these can pass you by. Confidence is also relevant in your digital communications, whether writing follow up messages or creating new connections.
Confidence takes time to build, needing consistent practice. Saying affirmations can help with this, helping you to believe you are equipped and able to take on these opportunities. Finally, adequately preparing for meetings ensures you know what to say, meaning you can present yourself as confident and focused.
- Empathy
Being able to understand and react well to the emotions and responses of others strengthens relationships and improves your teamwork skills. When working with a group, each person comes with their background and perspective, influencing the choices they make and how they work. Having empathy can help approach situations sensitively and appropriately, recognizing the unique needs of each of the people in your team and being able to accommodate them correctly.
Particularly when others make decisions you don’t initially understand, take a moment to appreciate their situation and train of thought. A manager might end a project for many reasons, from limited budgets available from the finance team, outdated strategies, to just not seeing the needed response. This isn’t a personal attack and working with empathy helps to accept others’ decisions, moving on to the next project whilst also being able to support those around you.
- Optimism
Everyone experiences stressful or disheartening situations. Having the skills to see these and focus on the positives can make you an uplifting person to be around and a valuable asset to a team. This isn’t denying that mistakes happen, or ignoring bad things happening, rather choosing to look at the good outcomes and appreciate the elements that did work. This puts a positive spin on the scenario, focusing on what you can achieve and the abilities of your teams.
Optimism doesn’t come naturally to everyone. However, recognizing achievements within a project can highlight features and tasks that have gone well. Similarly, showing employee appreciation when other team members succeed in something encourages your whole team, boosting their mood and enthusiasm as well. This makes tedious tasks more enjoyable and creates a positive atmosphere within your teams, making you someone people want to have around.
- Messaging Etiquette
Digital communication is crucial in maintaining contact with your network and utilizing those links. Whether reaching out to partners found through a referral marketing platform or reconnecting with old contacts, some form of messaging is likely to be involved. Different channels are used depending on the message length, expected response time, and the formality of the content. Using the appropriate channel prevents misunderstanding.
Emails are a very common method of communicating digitally. These should have relevant subject lines, use professional vocabulary, and generally address one topic. Alternatively, for quick responses, instant messaging can be more casual and brief, usually not covering large topics. Using the appropriate channel suggests the importance and urgency of the content, meaning your recipients are more likely to respond to messages with good etiquette.
What Networking Skills Do You Need to Learn?
Having the right networking skills in place can be the difference between landing the promotion or job interview you want and watching it be given to someone else. Having contacts to vouch for your abilities and recommend you for new opportunities, means that you’re not alone in working to advance your career and achieve your professional goals. Instead, you have a whole network looking out for upcoming projects and available positions that would suit your proven skills and abilities.
Developing new skills doesn’t happen overnight, requiring dedication and commitment to embed them into your lifestyle and work habits. Starting with these 9 critical networking skills you need to learn in 2022 can make it easier to present yourself well to those around you and build up connections. Pick a couple of skills to work on, such as those you feel least equipped with and put in the effort to develop them. Intentionally practicing and being aware of how you interact with people can make you a better networker.
Networking also develops existing relationships, so they can support and encourage your career choices. Done well, networking surrounds you with others who share your goals and want to see you succeed in your career. This creates a network of people who can and will help move your career in the direction you want when opportunities and new roles present themselves. This means a good networker is never alone, working with others to achieve their ambitions.
