Mentoring, a tool to facilitate the development of your professional network

If you are a mentor or mentee and you bring up the topic of networking in your mentoring meetings, here are some tips to keep in mind.

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Networking is one of the key elements of professional development and career acceleration. In fact, over 85% of positions are filled through the network!

As we know, knowing how to network well is not innate for everyone and requires us to step out of our comfort zone.

Mentoring is often an excellent way to gain confidence in this practice and to develop it further.

Why is networking important?

Building a network of contacts and relationships can provide countless opportunities for personal and professional development. That’s why it’s important to pay attention to it, right from the start of your career.

There are two different types of networking. First of all, internal networking, which consists of establishing relationships and links with people within the organization. This may include colleagues, managers and employees from other departments. Internal networking allows you to create a support system within the organization, learn from others, identify opportunities for growth and accelerate your career development.

External networking, on the other hand, involves building relationships and connections with people outside an individual’s organization. They may be individuals from the same industry, professional associations or other companies. External networking allows you to expand your knowledge, meet new people and find opportunities for collaboration or partnership. It can also be a way to promote your business or to seek new business opportunities. 

The challenges of networking

Networking is an art that requires putting yourself out there and starting conversations with new people, which can be uncomfortable or intimidating.

Self-confidence or self-doubt can be a barrier to effective networking. If a person is not confident in their own abilities or does not know how to present themselves, it will be more difficult for them to be clear and make quality connections with other professionals.

Also, to network well, it is important to set a goal. A person who develops his or her network without setting goals or asking the right questions beforehand will have difficulty building relationships over the long term.

Finally, networking requires an investment of time and effort, and some people may find it difficult to reconcile this discipline with their other professional and personal responsibilities.

Mentoring, a tool to facilitate the development of your professional network.

Mentoring, a tool to facilitate the development of your professional network. It can help a mentee gain confidence and develop essential networking skills, such as communication and listening skills.

If you are a mentor or mentee and you bring up the topic of networking in your mentoring meetings, here are some tips to keep in mind.

For mentees:

Want to access your mentor’s network? Here are some good practices to follow:

• Define your professional development goals. Think about your challenges: what should you develop and improve to be more effective in networking? What are your current strengths that you can already build on?
• Define your goal: what do you want to accomplish through networking? Be as specific as possible about the types of contacts you are looking for and the sectors or professions that interest you. This will help your mentor better understand how he or she can help you and which contacts in their network can be most helpful.
• Be professional: don’t ask your mentor for immediate access to his or her network, make sure you have developed a mutual bond of trust first.
• Be respectful: Remember that the mentor’s choice to give access to their network is very personal and it is important to respect their wishes if they do not want to do so.
• Thank your mentor: let them know that you appreciate their support and guidance and that you understand the value of their network.

For mentors:

Would you like to support your mentee in the development of his/her professional network? Here are some possible avenues of support.

• Open your network: identify contacts in your network that could be useful for your mentee’s project.
• Serve as an advisor: talk about your experiences and give insight into what has and has not worked well for you in the past. Share tips on how to prepare for an event, how to approach people on the day and what to do after the event. This will help the mentee avoid the most common pitfalls.
• Put your mentee in action: Invite your mentee to a networking event and ask him/her to observe him/her in action or ask him/her to present him/herself in a few minutes as if he/she were at an event.