Networking is never a waste of time; you can always learn from meeting new people.
For some of our youth, it seems to them that online social networking is all the networking they need to do and them come interview time or engaging in conversation offline and they become tongue tied and lost for words, often not even knowing what is expected of them in scenarios involving face to face interactions. The same person who is engaging on email, is unable to have conversations offline. This is where networking comes in.
Networking enables you to practise your social skills by meeting many people including those you would not normally associate with, all under one roof. Interacting and engaging with new and different people enables you to see things from another perspective. Networking is also a good opportunity to build contacts who may one day be potential business partners, potential suppliers, potential clients or potential mentors. It is no coincidence that people who seem to perform poorly in social settings, client meetings or even interviews, are often people who refuse to get out of their comfort zone and meet and interact with new people. But here’s a news alert. Much as society is now networked and technology seems to be all the rage, one thing that technology can never change is the fact that we still have to meet with people face to face at some point. Whether it is in a house of worship, work, weddings, parties, job interviews and many other examples.
So, get out there and network. You never know who you may meet. It could be you future boss, client, supplier, or even, future partner. All the best, from Miriam Mukasa
