Networking

Some people shudder at the word ‘networking’, picturing awkward drinks events where you have no idea who to talk to (or how to hold a drink and canapé and eat/drink/talk at the same time). But networking isn’t just about meeting people in the atrium of a conference or going to events with people in shiny suits, aggressively thrusting business cards at you. It’s simply about making and sustaining connections.

You already have networks around you: your supervisors, other colleagues in your department, your research student peers, research networks you belong to, conference working groups, social media groups… So you’re not starting from scratch. But: are you making the most of them?

Ask yourself:

• Do the staff in your department, beyond your immediate team, know you by name?
• Have you positioned yourself as someone who can be asked for a favour? If someone needed an extra pair of hands for an event or had an exciting opportunity to offer, would they think of you?
• If someone in your department was writing a paper that overlapped with your research area, would they know it was your area too?
• Have you attended events run by your department? Or offered to organise any?
• Do you ever email someone after an event to tell them how much you like their work?
• Have you nailed your academic Twitter game?
• Do you forward opportunities to your peers, if you think they might be interested? Do you offer to proof-read their abstracts or applications?

From this list, we can see that networking is not about self-promotion; it’s about dialogue and connection. It’s about being proactive, helpful, generous and kind. You get out what you put in, so it’s up to you to create the research community you want to be a part of.

Of course, this might sound a) daunting, and/or b) horribly time-consuming. You also might feel it puts those with other demands on their time – such as caring responsibilities, part-time work and health needs – at a disadvantage. However, we are not advocating participating in a toxic culture of trying to push, push, push and be everywhere, all of the time, for everyone. We’re not suggesting that research students sign up for lots of unpaid labour. But rather that you think strategically about what you get involved in – and this resourse aims to help you do that. And yes, for those with multiple demands on their time, it can sometimes feel like a lot to keep on top of. That’s why it’s important that it’s always dialogic and mutually supportive. It only takes a moment to forward an email to a peer telling them about a conference that you think they might be interested in; then, you never know: they might do the same for you.

The harsh reality is: if you don’t build networks, your work and your job prospects will suffer. Your research suffers because you have fewer people to ask for feedback, are exposed to fewer ideas, and are less likely to encounter research at the fore-front of your field. And your job prospects suffer because you miss opportunities and you have fewer people to recommend you.