Networking Without the Events

For many years we’ve all relied on networking, either at large conventions or at local events held at the restaurants across the city, when it came to prospecting for a new gig or a new job.
Today, and at least for the next few months, big gatherings have been scaled back or canceled altogether. Those cancellations represent a huge market – estimated at nearly $850 billion in 2019 – and a lot of potential business and employment going by the wayside. Or is it?
In a recent article in Forbes, entrepreneurs Sergei Revzin and Vadim Revzin remind us that a billion-dollar industry doesn’t just disappear overnight — and provided some keen current observations on how to network to find new clients to keep your business afloat or keep your resume front and center in today’s new environment.
First, things have changed when it comes to webinars and virtual events. Now that everything has moved to a remote platform, many of these events can be attended for free…or at a very low cost compared to previous years.
Second, there’s been a shift when it comes to approaching a potential client/employer without a ‘warm lead’ to the person you want to meet. The Revzins’ observe that now that most of us “are now in some form of isolation, people are more open than ever to taking a call or virtual meeting with someone new.”
As the economy opens back up and things do eventually get back to normal, this situation is sure to change. So, as the saying goes, strike while the iron’s hot.
Traditional, in-person networking opportunities may be on the sidelines for now, but nothing lasts forever. Employers are always on the lookout for good people that have a good attitude and the experience they are looking for in an employee – and the same in their contract workers. They are just finding different ways to do it for the time being.
Read more details in Revzins’ article…and make those new connections!