Networking Events — A First Timer’s Guide; Especially for Introverts and Shy People

What Is a Networking Event, and How To Find One?

‘The action or process of interacting with others to exchange information and develop professional or social contacts.’

Think back to when you were a child; you were probably told to “go make friends”. In this example; you were interacting with others to exchange information and develop social contacts.

So, a networking event is an event with a group of people interacting with each other to exchange information and develop contacts.

Usually, it takes place in a bar, lounge, or other meeting areas. These events I find by using Meetup, Eventbrite, and Facebook Events.

Should I Attend One?

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

I believe that attending some sort of event to meet new people is a great reason to attend one; whether it be to build a new professional connection, or to find your last bowling team member. It really comes down to what your expectations should be when attending one (more about that later).

I can honestly say that I’ve met at least thirty people at all the events I’ve attended. An example of some of these shared interests are; I’ve met three people at a networking event who enjoys New York Comic Con, two people at a mahjong meetup who I went to a tea event with, four people that I met at a wrestling event where we share a passion of talking about professional wrestling.

My mindset when attending one is, “What if I meet a great individual who shares one or more of my interests and beliefs?”

What are Some Best Practices?

“When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”

Seamlessly integrate yourself into the environment and be open to meet others, and have others be open to meet you. I recommend looking up the details for the event; such as, the time it begins, where it takes place, the theme (Typically listed as “Business/Professional”, “Happy Hour”, and/or “Mixer”), and who is hosting the event.

When I first started attending networking events, I had no clue what to do. But after having 30+ networking events under my belt, I’ve developed these rules of thumb that work well for me.

• Business casual attire — I attended events right after work; I was already in business casual attire, and what I quickly learned when I showed up is that so were the other attendees. Some of the men were even wearing blazers, and after attending a few events, I started wearing a blazer too. I wanted to seamlessly integrate myself into the event as much as possible.
• Show up with a positive attitude — Most people gravitate towards who are positive. In contrast; having a negative attitude will defeat the purpose of attending networking events to meet new people. A negative attitude will cause others to avoid you, or end conversations early to get away from you
• Smile when introducing yourself to others — When I meet others for the first time, I give them a smile; this shows that I am looking forward to meeting you and allows me to build relationships quicker. Compared to not wearing a smile, it will place a distance between yourself and others.
• Mindset — This is the question that I keep in my head before walking the doors to the event, “What if I meet a great individual who shares one or more of my interests and beliefs?”. I understand that not everyone there is going to have the same interests as you. But I believe that even if I met only ONE person who I have a common interest with, then the event was worth attending.
• Be yourself — People like people who are authentic. When introducing yourself and getting to know each other, you are learning about what the other person cares about. Then, by sharing information that is relevant to each other, you learn what are shared interests, and whether or not you want to associate yourself with the person you are talking to. For me; I was able to meet people with similar interests to my own, and built relationships based on that common interest.

What To Expect From a Networking Event?

When attending the event; you can expect to meet a lot of people there. What you should NOT expect is to come out of that event becoming best friends with everyone you met there. Though it was something that was on my mind prior to attending my first few networking events, but I quickly found out that it was unrealistic. You’re there to enjoy yourself and have fun. Instead, make a mental note, after meeting that individual; “would I like to see this person again?”

Ending Thoughts

Networking events are all about meeting new people, and evaluating to see if a relationship can be built. It is only the first step. It is up to you and your newfound connection to put in the effort to build up the relationship.

Since attending more than 30 networking events; I have averaged adding one new connection per event, using what I learned to make connections and build relationships. I have attended various comic cons with some of these new found friends, have a game night with others, or even met up for food/coffee/drinks with.

As an introvert; meeting new people is NOT something I look forward to. Instead of dwelling on that; I focus on learning about who they are and what they are interested in. If one of their interests lines up with my own; then the conversation we have will be very enjoyable.

I highly recommend hitting up the next networking event to forge new connections. Just discovering a new person with an interest in common with your own will already be worth it.

It all starts with the first one.