6 Tips for Networking Your Way to Success

by Alexandra Moncur; Levo League

As Porter Gale, former Vice President of Marketing at Virgin America, reflected on her career, she realized that her network and the amazing relationships she had developed throughout her career had greatly assisted her in achieving her current and future success. While building her career, her networking philosophy has been focused on being very passionate, figuring out exactly what she’s trying to accomplish, and being the best that she can be. “It’s a quality game, not a quantity game,” she explained.

During Levo League’s Office Hours, Gale offered her top six tips for building a network. Keep reading to see them all.

1. Get comfortable

Networking events can be daunting, even for confident extroverts. In order to be successful, Gale suggests determining what your goals are and what is holding you back from achieving them. Are you shy in social situations? Are you unable to discuss the industry you’re interested in?
“It doesn’t matter if you’re an introvert or an extrovert,” she said. “You have to figure out things that help you feel comfortable.”

For introverts, she recommends focusing your topics of conversation around your passion and knowledge base. However, if a topic comes up in conversation that you don’t understand or don’t know much about, own up to it. By acknowledging that this isn’t an area of expertise, you can further connect with the people you are speaking with as well as have an opportunity to learn. Also, don’t set a goal of meeting everyone at an event, but rather on meeting a select group of targeted individuals.

2. Funnel test

In her book Your Network is Your Net Worth, Gale suggests using her Funnel Test, which involves identifying three passions that you are comfortable discussing. Use this method to figure out what your passions are and what your purpose is in order to build a roadmap for networking and connecting.

This funnel will also help you to identify what types of content you should be posting and tweeting about, and types of networking events you should attend. In today’s world where we have both an online and offline persona, it’s very important to think about the impression you want people to take away when they Google you.

3. Find opportunities in pivot points

Success doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a series of little steps that get us to success. Gale believes that the key is to be positively productive, which means figuring out how you can learn best from pivot points and keep taking small steps towards your goal. Know that you’re not going to have your dream job right out of the gate.

“Think big,” she said. “Don’t let the no’s upset you. Keep trying and keep going for your dreams. If you’re focused, amazing things can happen.”

4. Build a core team

The people who we are surround by inspire us, give us energy, and support us. Think critically about your these individuals. Determine how best to develop a core team, or a group who will support your ideas. Technology allows us to connect much more rapidly, which in turn allows us to have a much larger core team. Because so much of today’s job placements are a result of personal connections, it is essential that this core team and your online persona are optimized to reflect your career goals.

“It’s no longer really six degrees of Kevin Bacon,” said Gale. “It’s really three or four degrees of you.”

5. Bring your value to the table

“The successful relationships are coming from collaboration, sharing ideas, connections over startups, products, and apps,” explained Gale. “I always encourage people to ask a simple question: Are you a producer or are you a consumer?”

A producer mindset is all about considering what value you are bringing to your workplace and relationships. Value creation cannot be accomplished when you are constantly plugged in. It is important to set aside time for great thinking, ideation, and what you’re bringing to the table.

6. Help others

Gale has found that the people who have very strong and tight networks don’t expect anything in return. The same is true in social media, she said. You should be posting because you think the content is of value, and retweeting when you are inspired by the idea being shared.

“[Through] all of your micro-exchanges with people, you can also help inspire others,” said Gale. “You can inspire others and our future leaders. These simple actions that we do can make a huge difference.”

According to Gale, if you use the simple phrase, “How can I help?” and don’t expect anything in return, miracles can happen. She encourages women to think of this as a lifestyle and to travel with your headphones off. There are so many opportunities to connect with those around you if you are open to conversations, willing to connect, and show people that you recognize and value them.

“Often we miss so many of the opportunities that are around us because we’re engrossed in a book or we’re just not talking to people,” Gale said. “Be very open, be positive, help other people, surround yourself with a great team, and above all, be focused and passionate about what you’re trying to accomplish.”