What Are The Benefits of Networking?
Networking with others in your field is about more than collecting business cards. Investing time in developing strategic, long-lasting business connections can also help workers expand their knowledge, find solutions to unique problems, and learn about career advancement opportunities.
Students interested in advancing their education and growing their professional network are likely to find that completing a professional certificate, such as an online professional certificate, can prepare them with the in-demand knowledge and skills needed to advance in their careers and expand their industry connections.
Below are just a few of the benefits of networking that professionals can experience across all industries.
What Is Networking?
Networking is the process of developing and maintaining professional relationships with people in one’s field. It involves connecting with others that share common professional interests through in-person events, such as conferences, and online forums, such as LinkedIn, among others—to exchange information, share resources, and create avenues for career development.
For example, individuals seeking coaching or mentoring may find success by developing professional connections through industry associations. In other instances, professionals may find that reaching out to colleagues in their industry via email or LinkedIn can help initiate the sharing of ideas, resources, and information about updates and trends within their field. Networking can also be used to increase professionals’ awareness of job and career advancement opportunities.
5 Benefits of Networking
The benefits of professional networking are numerous. In addition to helping professionals build stronger business relationships with others in their field, networking can also be valuable to individuals seeking new job opportunities. For example, cold applying for a job without having any contacts within that company is less likely to yield interview calls than when an applicant applies to a company where they have one or more connections.
Other benefits of networking include the following:
1. Networking Encourages the Exchange of Knowledge and Information
Networking allows professionals in all fields to share information and insights about happenings within their industry. Since networking encourages all parties to be as valuable to others as others are to them, this reciprocity allows professionals to be supportive of one another. For example, if person A needs to make a significant purchase for their company, they might consider asking someone in their network if they can recommend a trusted vendor. This type of information sharing is helpful to the person who is seeking information, the person who is providing the information, and the vendor that receives the purchase order.
2. Improves Job Seekers’ Access to New Opportunities
Many job openings never make it onto a job board. Instead, companies may ask their employees if they have contacts in their professional network that may be a good fit for the position. Professionals who develop and maintain networking contacts are more likely to have improved access to unpublished job postings. This can also help applicants streamline their job search, as information about openings passed on by networking contacts are more likely to align with their experience and credentials.
3. Networking Provides Professionals with Increased Exposure
Networking benefits visibility for professionals in all fields, which is important to those seeking career advancement opportunities. Individuals who regularly attend professional events, such as conferences and training modules, and industry-sponsored social events, such as dinners and after-hours events, are more likely to be recognizable. Industry events also provide key opportunities for professionals looking to enhance their personal brand and grow their reputation for being reliable and knowledgeable sources of information.
4. It Can Help Forge Long-Lasting Relationships
Professionals often find that the relationships they build with like-minded individuals who share similar interests and goals can develop into mentoring opportunities and long-lasting friendships. In some instances, these relationships can also create opportunities for collaboration on current and future projects.
5. Networking Provides Access to Support and Resources
Professional networks provide workers with access to industry-specific data, publications, resources, and information. For example, IT professionals struggling to solve a particular coding issue may find that someone in their professional network can provide them with a previously untried, out-of-the-box solution. On the other hand, individuals looking to relocate to another city—only to find that their current employer will not allow them to telecommute—can tap their professional network to inquire about local or remote job opportunities specific to their new location.
How Continuing Education Can Help with Networking
Professionals interested in continuing their education by completing one or more professional certificates are also likely to find that gaining the ability to interact with professors and classmates, many of whom are also working professionals, can help them expand their professional network.
Students enrolled in online continuing education programs not only have the flexibility needed to complete their coursework on their own time, but the online learning platform also allows students to connect with professionals throughout the U.S. This can be vastly beneficial to individuals interested in expanding their knowledge, skills, and professional connections.
Complete an Online Certificate and Expand Your Professional Network
Students interested in learning more about how earning a professional certificate can help them experience the benefits of networking are likely to find that completing a professional certificate from Suffolk University’s Center for Continuing & Professional Education (CCPE) can help them expand their knowledge and industry connections.
The 100% online certificate programs at Suffolk University are designed to help busy professionals upskill on their own time, regardless of whether they’re looking to advance in their current careers or transition to a new path. Learn more about how earning an online certificate from Suffolk University’s CCPE can help you take the next step toward your professional future.
Recommended Readings:
Certificate vs. Certification: What Is the Difference?
Why Should You Earn an Online Certificate?
Do You Want to Prepare For The Future? Consider Upskilling
Sources:
BetterUp, “What Is Networking and Why Is It So Important?”
Indeed, “10 Tips to Help You Network Like a Pro”
Investopedia, “Networking: What Is It and How to Do it Successfully”
LinkedIn, “What Are the Benefits of Professional Networking?”
Michael Page, “Ten Benefits of Networking”