By Sam Moulton, Ambassador for The Dot

My first job out of school was a Marketing Coordinator role at a large company, but it was a contract role, meaning, it had a hard end date. When I accepted this job I was just happy to have a “real” job as my first job out of college, and didn’t stress too much about what would happen after the end date. However, as that end date did eventually approach, I started to get nervous; I was applying to so many jobs but having no luck. Realizing my blind approach wasn’t generating any interest.

Every single one of my jobs has been secured through knowing someone!

After having no luck in blindly applying to jobs, I turned to the people I knew to see if anyone had any connections. Long story short, I reached out to someone I knew, who connected me with a leader at his company, and I was hired! Since then, every single one of my jobs has been secured through knowing someone! Here’s how I approach networking and why it’s been so successful for me:

I am a firm believer that if you take time to connect with people, offer to help them, or just straight up say “I’m lost and I’d love to hear any advice you have,” people will want to help however they can.

I am a firm believer that if you take time to connect with people, offer to help them, or just straight up say “I’m lost and I’d love to hear any advice you have,” people will want to help however they can.

I remember my first networking conversation back in 2015. It was back when my contract role was ending and I was nearly desperate for a new job. I spoke with a leader who was hiring for a Customer Support rep at a local company. While I wasn’t thrilled to be talking about Customer Support, I went into that conversation willing to learn, and sold myself as an eager recent grad who would show up and work hard. Once I stepped into that role, I learned fast, performed well, and then did everything I could to move into a team that I was more interested in.

I ended up staying with that same company  through two other  roles before looking for new opportunities. Again, once I decided to start looking, I went right back to my network first. I was lucky enough to have an amazing professor that I stayed connected with from my undergraduate education at the University of St. Thomas. I met with him, among others, to hear advice from those in Marketing who had much more experience than I did at that time. That professor connected me with one of his long-time colleagues and mentor, and again, long story short, this is how I got my next role and landed at UnitedHealthcare. I’ve now been at UnitedHealthcare for over 5 years. Joining a huge company with several different departments and teams has naturally helped me in building my network. I also am so grateful to work for a leader who advocates for monthly networking sessions, which I make sure to treat as a high priority. I have a great network within UHC, but I also work to stay connected with those in Marketing, or even in my industry, outside of UHC. 

Tips for Effective Networking

So, regardless of whether you’re in a role where you’re not happy, or you’re more successful than you thought you could ever be, I encourage you to think about your network. What could you learn by meeting with others? Could you pay it forward and help someone younger than you? Could you join events or spaces where you can share knowledge, or help connect others?

Wherever you are within your Networking journey, I encourage you to think about the following:

1. Be genuine: show up as yourself and be sincere in all of your interactions
2. Listen and learn: take time to actively listen to others and learn from their perspectives
3. Give before you get: offer help to others even if you don’t get an immediate return
4. Diversify your network: connect with others from different backgrounds, industries and perspectives.
5. Go online: use platforms for outreach (hint hint The Dot’s  Network)
6. Attend events and/or networking groups: meet people across industries and backgrounds by finding events in your area to build connection

The Power of Networking

Especially in today’s weird, post-Covid world, building a strong network is so powerful, regardless of whether you work completely in person, are hybrid, or wherever you’re at in your career. 

Why does it pay off to build and foster a network? 

Professional Reputation – by networking with others, most times it shows that you care about your work or career, as well as helping others. It can help in building credibility and visibility within your industry or company.

Opportunities – you never know where opportunities might be hiding. By networking you could learn about industries or roles that you had never even known about before. It also opens you up for continued connection, which can lead to new opportunities.

Knowledge Exchange – whether you’re networking with someone in the same industry or type of role, or meeting with someone in a completely different world, I would bet 100% of the time you will learn something new. It’s extremely helpful to take a step out of your day-to-day work life, and open up conversation with others so you can learn more and add a new perspective into how you may think.

Support System – this is huge and so valuable! The past couple of years have been insane in the business world with mass hiring, mass layoffs and everything in between. Having someone who you can lean on, learn from, and connect with, can be valuable, even if just for your mental health.

Personal Growth – a lot of people may be turned off when they hear “networking,”, and I get it, it can be uncomfortable for many, but in my experience, feeling uncomfortable leads to growth. It can aid in building confidence and resilience.