Livebytes Live: Building Your World-Class Network with Adela Mehic-Dzanic

Livebytes Live: Building Your World-Class Network with Adela Mehic-Dzanic

Introduction

In the introduction, Adela (https://www.twitter.com/Adela_Mehic_Dz) talks about what she does and what her day-job is, but also the goal she has set herself: to reach 1000 women by the end of 2020. This of course ties into how she is going to do that through networking.

Why is it important to have a good network?

Having a network is great, but what is the importance of having a good network? In which situations does it help? Adela mentions a few good examples of how she got to learn about certain topics by having people in her network that could help her by explaining these topics to her.

Another big advantage of having a good network is of course when you want to land that dream job at a particular company. Knowing someone within that company of course helps when you want to get an introduction.

How do you start building your network?

Where do you start? In this topic we discuss where to start, some interesting things that come up are for example networking events, although hard, they really help with building out your network with people.

Another example is using Linkedin or cold-emailing people that you look up to and are for example in the position you want to be in.

How do you become more open if you are an introvert?

Introverts are sometimes unrightfully classed as people that are not great networkers, but Adela brings up a good point that introverts have a superpower: active listening. They will most of the time pick up on details that an extrovert would not and that helps when you want to follow-up on someone you met while networking.

She also mentions that when she goes to networking events she looks and takes along an introvert as a +1, this way, she can help this person because she is an extrovert. If you are an introvert, look to extroverts to bring along to these kinds of events.

What are some of the good and bad things to do when you have your network?

Some of the good things to do with your network is of course help people, and I mention that while networking it's important to note that you will put in a lot more effort than you would maybe get out of it, especially on the short-term. Patience is key when building your network.

Another big thing is not to burn any bridges while you go through your career. You might not always agree with everything and everyone, but it's important that you leave a company in the right manner. People talk, especially in certain sectors, and a bad impression could haunt you in the long-run.

How do you use your network?

When you've established your network, how do you use your network? The most important thing is to keep in mind that whenever you have your network, use it when you feel like it's a good fit. And the way you use your network can change, maybe first it's for landing a job, but in a later stage it's building a personal brand.

Final Remarks

A recap of the things we discussed and some final remarks.

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