Heads up! To view this whole video, sign in with your Courses account or enroll in your free 7-day trial. Sign In Enroll
Preview
Start a free Courses trial
to watch this video
Social networks and websites can provide fantastic opportunities for networking, but there’s a limit to the interaction. Online networking is vital, but there’s no substitute for making a real human connection, and that’s why it’s important to make an effort to get offline and meet people in person.
Social networks and web sites
0:00
can provide fantastic opportunities for networking,
0:02
but there is a limit to the interaction.
0:06
Online communication can often be disjointed,
0:08
especially if you limit yourself to forums, chats,
0:11
email, and other virtual forms of interaction.
0:14
Online networking is vital,
0:17
but there's no substitute for making a real human connection,
0:20
and that's why it's important to make an effort
0:23
to get offline and meet people in person.
0:26
[Christopher Schmitt] Well I think you just said it.
0:29
You get out of the laptop, right?
0:31
So you're always in front of the laptop,
0:33
and so your mind is always trying to
0:35
find the latest blog, tutorial, or whatnot,
0:37
and sometimes those get out of date
0:40
and don't get updated.
0:42
Sometimes the information changes so fast—
0:44
like we just talked about responsive images and how much has changed within the last year,
0:46
and it needs to be updated,
0:50
and sometimes what's really popular in Google searches
0:54
isn't really what you need to know, right?
0:57
So you really need someone that can—
0:59
a speaker at a conference who can hopefully—
1:02
if they're expert enough, put it into context for you.
1:04
Also it's a great way to network
1:07
and meet like-minded folks
1:09
who you probably wouldn't—normally wouldn't meet otherwise,
1:12
so it's a really great way of doing that.
1:14
So just the way the industry changes so fast is really a great way
1:16
to just get up to date pretty fast
1:19
and ask—not only just to speakers
1:22
but there's a saying that
1:24
sometimes the speaker isn't the smartest person in the room;
1:26
it's the audience—is the smartest person in the room,
1:29
and one of the things when I speak
1:31
is that if there's a question I don't know,
1:33
I make sure I tell people,
1:35
"I don't know the answer to that one, but maybe someone here knows."
1:37
Most of the time, they probably know the answer to it.
1:39
So that's a great way to learn, get your answers,
1:42
and move on,
1:46
make a—not just—but be inspired to great things,
1:48
and I feel like you get inspired by knowing, right?
1:52
And knowing what you need to do to build great things.
1:55
[Dan Gorgone] There are many opportunities to attend events
1:58
where you can learn more about the job you want
2:01
and the skills you need.
2:04
No matter where you are,
2:06
there should be a number of local meetings, workshops, and conferences.
2:08
If you need help finding some events,
2:11
let's think back to the activity
2:13
where we used keywords and locations
2:15
to search for competitors.
2:17
Let's do the same search but instead of personal sites and social profiles,
2:19
let's focus on the results that feature industry blogs,
2:24
local events,
2:27
and organizations.
2:29
Each of these provide focused content related to the keywords you entered
2:31
and often provide calendars
2:34
of upcoming events, meetings, and other chances to network.
2:37
[Dave Rupert] In Austin, Texas—where I live,
2:42
there are—
2:45
every Tuesday night,
2:47
this guy, Damon—can I tell the story? >> Yeah, sure. Yeah, yeah.
2:50
[Dave Rupert] This guy, Damon, came up with this concept.
2:54
He negotiated with his wife
2:57
one night a week
2:59
to go out and work on side projects.
3:01
So he got Tuesday night,
3:03
so he can go to any meetup he wants,
3:06
he can just sit in the coffee shop and code all night long.
3:08
Wife watches the kids.
3:11
So he kind of turned it into a thing,
3:14
like, "Hey, we meet up here."
3:16
Out of that—actually like 2 startups have been formed,
3:18
like dudes just sitting there, coding together,
3:22
and they launched and startup and they got millions in funding.
3:26
A success story, right?
3:29
So that's kind of the environment
3:31
he incubated.
3:34
So Cafe Bedouins is this thing where you just go out Tuesday night,
3:36
you work on a side project.
3:39
And so I've just been trying to go out and do that.
3:41
There's more I can learn, you know?
3:43
I mean, I need to—
3:45
I don't know every class and every function and every method and—
3:47
it's just to learn,
3:50
just to make sure I have the basics covered,
3:53
and that will no doubt help me in my day job and do something later.
3:55
[Dan Gorgone] Networking with others in person
4:00
can lead to opportunities to meet potential new partners
4:02
or create new business.
4:06
They can also lead to impromptu chats and discussions,
4:08
brainstorms, and other constructive talks.
4:11
The best part
4:14
is that meeting in real life can establish or strengthen
4:16
an existing connection that began online.
4:19
Meeting in person gives people a chance to understand the personalities
4:22
behind the online personas,
4:26
but networking in real life also requires a different set of skills.
4:29
While remaining hidden behind your laptop
4:32
can offer a degree of anonymity and safety,
4:35
real-life networking requires that you present yourself
4:38
in a professional manner.
4:41
If you hope to make a positive impression with the people you meet,
4:43
make the effort that others might not.
4:45
Don't dress down.
4:48
At least go business casual.
4:51
Don't show up late; be there on time or early
4:53
to take advantage of the chance to say hello.
4:57
If you're shy about meeting new people,
5:00
do some research first.
5:02
The event you're doing to should have a focus
5:04
and perhaps some speakers with a particular background.
5:06
Be friendly, introduce yourself,
5:09
and ask for advice if necessary,
5:12
but don't immediately venture into the territory
5:14
where you ask to work together
5:16
or anything too forward.
5:18
Remember: These events are not just for you to meet them;
5:20
it's for them to meet you, too.
5:23
Whether you bring business cards or simply share your Twitter handle,
5:26
give people a way to remember you, as well,
5:30
in a positive way.
5:33
Like courses or formal training,
5:36
networking events might be something
5:38
that your current employer will pay for you to attend;
5:40
that is, as long as the events focus on workshops and seminars
5:43
and not on cocktail parties.
5:47
If you're finding it challenging to locate local events,
5:49
consider starting up one of your own.
5:52
Sites like Meetup.com have features built in
5:55
for people to quickly organize and manage smaller events.
5:57
Keep in mind that if you do a great job developing your own profile and expertise,
6:01
you may be invited to speak at an event
6:07
and the changes to network increase dramatically.
6:09
Regardless of where you are,
6:13
every event is an opportunity to make connections
6:15
that will benefit your career,
6:17
as well as your personal pursuits.
6:19
You need to sign up for Treehouse in order to download course files.
Sign up