Nailing a Networking Event: Set Reasonable Expectations

Networking events can be overwhelming if your goal is to meet and get to know everyone (or as many people as possible) then it’s time to face the fact that you have not really given your goal enough thought and planning. Take a few minutes and consider the circumstances a little more deeply.

Are you attending to feel out a new organization and get to know the culture? Should you try to meet as many people as possible or would it be better to meet one or two people from a particular group? Are you interested in meeting five new and randomly chosen people? Or do you want to meet one or two specific people? These are all reasonable expectations and it takes a little pre-planning to set these goals, so do some research to make your goal specific but stay flexible, just in case. If your goal has become meeting specific people then see if you can find photos of them online so you have a better chance of spotting them.

Once you know whom you’d like to meet and hopefully have an idea of what they look like, position yourself near the door so you can see them as they arrive and introduce yourself before they become engrossed in conversation with someone else. You have a much better chance of making an impression if you’re their first conversation.

Doing a little preparation on your goal and then applying your research skills toward meeting it are important steps for getting the most out of the networking events you attend. It may be tempting to just “wing it!”, but if you’re making the effort to identify the right event to attend, putting it on your calendar, getting yourself there and spending a couple hours of your life somewhere, isn’t it worth it to just put in a little prep to make the most of the time and effort you’ve invested?