The power of Networking
Practical tips from a data science job seeker
I graduated almost two months ago from the intense London Data Science bootcamp at Flatiron School and one month later I’ve started actively looking for a job. I was already aware of the power of LinkedIn in the process of the work searching but I completely ignored how powerful could be to build one real network using LinkedIn and how it could be possible to find a connection with people even in the middle of a pandemic.
What is Networking
Coming from a small Italian City, where everybody knows each other and where emotional connection and empathy between people is the fundamental of our community, I have experienced soon the potential of networking. Most of my working experiences in fact, the ones related with my field of study and the ones thatI did to pay my studies, where provided by the physical network that I build during the years. Aristotle used to say “ Man by nature is a social animal” and nothing is more true when referring to networking: the more people you know in the industry and the more your chances of getting a job is increasing. Networking can be defined as the ability of building a connected community of professionals with similar business interests. They can be you colleagues, ex colleagues, school mates, your university teachers or even random people with your similar background or with the same hobby and passion than you. The potential links within people go beyond any imagination and nowadays with social networks, is really easy to find a connection point between people. But why we should connect with people that we don’t know? Easy, a professional network can support your career development, can open doors for new opportunities or can help you in your current role. Theoretically it looks easy, I would say almost natural, but in practice it is really challenging and if not well managed, networking can have disastrous results.
How to Network
In normal situations, I would recommend networking under different forms but considering the current pandemic situation, I will limit myself to what I believe to be the most effective form of networking for connecting with people you don’t know: LinkedIn.
At the beginning of my networking experience, I was really skeptical about the real benefits of this way of connecting with people. I was thinking, why somebody should be interested in reading my presentation emails and even answer them? I soon realised that the benefit can be mutual. The secret is to write personalised emails, collect as much information as possible from the company on my interest and try to show to the recipient of the email all your genuine interest in the company. I experienced on myself the bad effect that can have one impersonal email written in series by a third person and my first tip is to personalise emails. Tailor emails is something that can take a lot of time. In fact, you don’t have just to gather information upon the company, you have to do a research on the professional path of the recipient of the mail and find a connection point that can bring empathy to your email. Find a mutual hobby, better if is related with the professional sphere, or a similarity in the field of study, the university or in a cosmopolitan city like London, the nationality in common. Don’t forget we are first humans and our social ties are permeated by empathy. My second tip is give something. Don’t just claim, nobody will listen to you and they will probably think you are rude and arrogant, and as a result, you will get the opposite effect of what you are looking for. Formulate the email demonstrating sincere interest in the professional path that led your interlocutor to be in the role in which he is now. In this way, you will put your interlocutor in a position to understand that you are genuinely interested in him and not only in finding a way to enter into the company where he works. My third tip is be yourself. I believe that in networking, as in interviews, is really important to create a good first impression about yourself and this can happen if you sell your personal brand without looking arrogant and prig.
Conclusion
So far, following the tips that I explained above, my experience of networking has been quite positive. I’ve had good feedback, even from people that I would never think they would ever answer. I got interviews with LinkedIn networking. I was made aware of positions that had not yet been officially opened on the company’s websites and I gave input to new open junior data scientist positions. Everybody was extremely helpful and nice in coming back to me. I have to definitely improve my networking techniques and even when I will find a job I will continue to expand my data science network but with my personal experience I understood something: kindness calls kindness.