Introduction 

Networking is my forte. Academic seminars and graduation ceremonies present good opportunities for networking especially to students. Networking is not just about getting a contact and then using it later, one has to show concern and socialize genuinely. For instance, I attended an academic seminar on financial management. At this event, most of the speakers were administrators of various companies. During the question and answer session at the seminar, I took the chance to ask many questions as possible and show genuine interest and passion in my field of study. After the event, familiarity was not a challenge due to my participation. My Contribution made it easier to network later. Generally, after the event ended, everyone scrambled with the intention of making a kill with his or her networking skill but it was not as effective. Social media is another   tool for networking. In today’s society, nearly all the people have social media accounts. Therefore, tracking their where about is not hard. After getting a network contact, make an effort to interact in any social media platforms. In addition, social media brings people together and avails their data in their personal accounts. For further illustration, all my personal details are on my Facebook and twitter accounts. Hence, people of similar interests can reach me easily. In fact, online marketing makes it compulsory for companies to have social media accounts through which they can monitor latest market trends. Lastly, social media platform makes research stress-free. One can go to the social media accounts of the company’s event and get information on who will be at an event beforehand. Moreover, social media makes people more visible and linked continuously. Creating an active blog, give other people a platform   to consult and interact through feeds.

 Summary of events

 

I attended an event dubbed Twilight series. It took place on 17th April hosted by Gatineau Park members. Registration fee was $7dollars or $20 dollars depending on an individual purpose at the event. I registered with only $7.The event took place at Gatineau park located along Scoot road. In contrast to other events, this attracted community members across the board. I arrived at the event at 7pm and event began an hour later. The event had a unique approach to conservation matters. In fact, it brought an amphibian specialist to the occasion. Funny enough, I met politicians, students, and businessmen with a passion for conservation. What I liked about the event was the setting, which made it easy to move or maneuver around and talk to people. Very important people did not designate themselves or pushed to an isolated area at the event. The organizers were creative enough to give everyone an opportunity to level it up among themselves. I met Jeff Gommery an Information Technology expert with an aim of specializing in conservation software. He was one of the guest speakers at the event. Anyway, conservation is a global topic and I decided to attend an event with a more sound approach to conservation. Twilight series, gave an in-depth talk on the sound made by amphibians such as frogs. Jeff showed professionalism in what he did. He identified frog sounds of various species, recorded, and replicated the sound using a software. Unlike other conservation events that make conservation look like an uphill task, this event explained the role of the community in conservation. For instance, observing the sound birds made in the morning and frogs at night. No animal can make joyous sound in a polluted environment. The event had a rare combination of science, business, and art. Maryanne is an artist I met after the event ended. She was interested in gathering information on biogenetics and generating artwork that would raise awareness on conservation of ponds. She was polite and insisted on going further to become the first artist to combine art and science for the sake of conservation. She was active on twitter and invited me to her art gallery conservation event scheduled on June, later this year. I was out of the venue at10pm although the event officially came to a halt at 9pm.

 

The second event was a networking event. The event specializes in bringing together human resource professionals from various locations. It trains on emerging trends in hiring and new technologies developed for the field. It took place at the Zam restaurant on 10th April. Creative ideals were the organizers of the occasion. Human resource deals with people. Hence, the event gives human resource professionals the platform to teach themselves on how to capitalize and take advantage of the relationship they encounter on daily basis. I arrived at 7pm.Kenneth Charlton was one of the speakers at the event. He emphasized on the growth of business through relationships. Kenneth headed the human resource company at Danton enterprises and was willing to share with me new ways of having an extensive connection using human resource knowledge. He left his business card and I booked a meeting at the start of the week.

 

Review of the connections

 

I met many people at the two events mentioned above. In my perspective, all of them had something to offer in my career. Kenneth Charlton and Jeff stood out. First, they were ready to help and proved relevant due to their vast knowledge. In addition, they recommended other people within my line of study. Therefore, after meeting them at their respective places of work, each one of them gave out another contact that went through.

How to build network as career progresses

Getting a contact is one thing, putting it into relevant use is another. In order to use the connections to advance my career, I need continuous consultations. First, consultations create a community and referrals emerge from consultations. In fact, via consultations, one is able to share their work ethic and expertise with me free and referring in areas, they are not highly knowledgeable or competent. Consequently, the chain of referrals grows   and remains relevant and at the same time gives critical relevant and up to date material on one’s career. The advantage of consultations   through referrals is that it creates an atmosphere where one does not only reach out due to the need of a job or favor but genuinely seeks specific knowledge on their career. Additionally, it reduces gathering of many business cards that one ends up not using at all. Lastly, long before one needs something, they must establish a circle of mentors, friends, consultations build this circle. With a solid circle, one keeps in touch with them every day.

How to build a career before networking

Even before networking, one has to have specific goals they wish to accomplish. Setting goals provide guidance one needs to advance in their career. A goal should be specific and time bound. Secondly, write a god genuine resume. Resume is simply stating what one is good at. A good resume safeguards against unpreparedness. Lastly self-branding. Self-branding can be done by improving on services one offers. 

Conclusion 

Networking illustrates itself through social interactions. The aim of networking is gathering of information and using it to expand one’s knowledge and relationship. I managed to gain a lot of experience from the two events that I attended two events. One was a conservation event dubbed, Twilight series and the other the Networking event. Twilight series dealt with conservation, it was an open invitation event. Thus, increased chances of networking. Networking event was a human resource occasion. It utilized human resource profession to come up with innovative ways of socializing. The events were worth my time and gave infinite information on how one can make use of networking.