CHICAGO–Young credit union professionals are often advised to seek out mentors and to network help their careers, but that can be a challenge in a smaller or even mid-size CU. So where does one turn?
Writing on FastCompany.com, Amanda Sol Peralta-Jopwell shared five lessons she learned. A first-generation college undergrad whose Chilean parents had worked in the service industry, she said she had not been pushed toward a professional career.
As she approached graduation, Peralta-Jopwell said she realized “The tech and startup opportunities I had become passionate about felt inaccessible. I needed a network.”
Explaining that she is more comfortable in one-on-one settings than she is in a room full of strangers, Peralta-Jopwell said she had to “retrain myself to stop thinking about networking as an aggressive, transactional process and instead approach it with curiosity and an open mind.”
The result: she learned to approach strangers professionally as opposed to socially, with the resulting “relationships …crucial to (her) advancement.”
Peralta-Jopwell offered these five tips for going about it.
1. Seek Out Common Ground
“As I’ve gotten more comfortable with real small talk while networking, I’ve developed go-to questions that help me uncover rich common ground,” she wrote on FastCompany.com. Her questions have included:
- What do you do outside of work?
- Why do you do what you do? How did you end up there?
- Did you always know this is something you wanted to do?
- What are you hoping to accomplish next?
- What have you read or watched recently that really left an impact on you?
2. Be Ruthless in Gathering Contact Information
“This one’s pretty simple. You’ll never get a chance to develop a professional relationship with someone if you don’t get their name, email address, or some way to keep in touch,” she said. “Don’t be shy, overly polite, or unimposing. When I sense the conversation is coming to an end, I often pull out my phone, open my LinkedIn app, and ask the person I’m talking with to share his or her name so we can connect right away.”
3. Be Flexible
According to Peralta-Jopwell, building a professional relationship means nurturing it with different touchpoints over time.
“At first, that might mean sending a quick thank-you note. But soon, you’ll want to have more meaningful conversations. Depending on the person’s schedule, industry, and seniority, any number of ways to connect might be most appropriate,” she said. “Offer them as many options as possible–do they prefer to chat by email, text, phone, or in person? –and be ready to be accommodating. I try to keep it broad with my ask: ‘Would you be open to connecting further over coffee or a phone chat in the coming weeks?’”
4. Do Your Research Every Time
When you do get that phone call or coffee meeting scheduled, do your homework and see what the person with whom you’re connecting has been up to, Peralta-Jopwell advised. “Do they (or their company) come up in any recent Google News searches? Do they have any new activity listed on their LinkedIn page? Have they written a recent blog post on Medium or shared their thoughts on Twitter? It’s your job to know.”
5 Express Your Appreciation Generously and Specifically
If and when the relationship turns into a great referral, connection, resource recommendation, or simply solid career advice, remember to be thankful, reminded Peralta-Jopwell. “Write or speak genuinely, and cite specifics. What was the most memorable insight from your conversation? Why do you appreciate this person’s perspective? What can you offer in return? People at every stage of their lives and careers will find it rewarding to know how their advice helped you.”