As a first year university student, I had to battle through some less-than-fun classes. Even ‘Intro to Sports Administration’, which would have caused high school Tyler to faint out of excitement, was a bit of a bore sometimes. Still, my professors always did a good job at emphasizing the importance of networking, especially considering the small size of the sports industry within Canada. Throughout university I focused on continually broadening my network, with four internships that created a solid base of contacts within both the professional and amateur sports industry. Something I had to learn on my own, however, was the importance of maintaining my network. In school, the focus was on “elevator pitches” and how to successfully create a new connection – I’ve since learned the importance of not only establishing a connection, but maintaining your network.
Let’s think of a four-month internship that you just completed at <insert professional sports organization here>. There were probably a few other interns working at the same time. Let’s say there were five, and the organization hired them during the two semesters of school. That’s ten interns a season. In half-a-decade, fifty interns walk through the doors. How do you make sure you get remembered? Simple – MAINTAIN YOUR NETWORK.
But Tyler, is maintaining your network REALLY that easy? Yes, it really is.
Instead of focusing your entire energy on broadening your network, invest in maintaining the relationships you’ve already established. When five years pass and you’re reaching out to your old manager, you’re not “that former intern that I somewhat remember from half-a-decade ago”. Instead, you’re “that former intern who visits when they are in the city, and keeps up with what’s going on in the organization.” That automatically will make you remembered. You should be genuinely interested in what is going on. Find out how their role has been evolving, and what their most pressing issues are. Find out what has changed in the organization since you have left. Dale Carnegie, author of How to Win Friends and Influence People, says “Talk to someone about themselves and they’ll listen for hours!” Not only is listening to others a great way to make them like you, but it is also a great way to learn more about what they do, and what issues affect them the most. It’s classic “relationship building”, and it works.
On top of being able to reach out in the future, you never know when a member of your network is going to open up an entirely new network at a different organization. Maybe ten years down the road your old manager will be a director for a different team in a new city. You’ll be glad you’ve maintained that connection. Even if you never reap any new jobs/promotions from your connections, those contacts still will provide you with a quality network that is more valuable than just a simple LinkedIn connection. Get better at reaching out for lunches, phone calls, office visits, etc., and you can bet that investing in the quality rather than quantity will pay off.
To succinctly summarize my ramblings, remember this: solely focusing on broadening your network will leave you with a big pool of poor contacts and connections. Focus your time and energy on developing and improving the quality of your current connections.
Tyler
