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As working women, we might be working hard, but it is equally important to involve ourselves with professional networking to stay updated and relevant.
As a working woman I have often wondered, if I have done enough or any professional networking!
Being a working woman is tough. And being a working mother is tougher! Have you ever felt that the ‘mother’ part overbears the ‘woman’ part leaving the ‘working’ part to fend for itself! Yes I am working like any other working woman but am I spending enough time on professional networking?
I am not. I belong to the group of women who would like to engage more on this but almost everything else takes priority. The never ending household chores, the constant home vs work balance, kids homework, workplace challenges and even our own socializing on FB and Whatsapp! I often feel that many women do not impart as much focus and attention to it unlike men, for whom it is a part and parcel of their working life.
Are we wired differently or just that we do not accord professional networking the required importance and attention?
I observed the kind of posts made on Linkedin by the women I am connected to. It was completely outnumbered by the posts men made. Do I consciously try to create a definite profile on Linkedin through my posts, shares and connections? I don’t. I barely keep myself updated on the latest in our field of work. Realization hit me real hard when I found myself at a loss of words in an after-hours conversation amongst my colleagues on some new trends.
The realization got me going. This ‘out of depths’ situation needs to be converted to a ‘having depth’ situation!
In the wired world, information is easily accessible. Sign up for newsletters and blog posts from the leading sites in your areas of work. Once the articles are delivered straight to your mailbox, it makes it easier to go through. Even if nothing else, the headlines or the article synopsis is enough to give you a fair idea.
Read the relevant news items in the various news apps. Along with your FB feed!
Write a blog post and share on your profile.
Comment on other’s posts and get a discussion going.
Sign up for online memberships to professional networks in your area of work.
Catch up with an old colleague who has moved onto other areas of work.
Catch up with ex-colleagues who are now in different roles in other companies. You will get a different perspective and lots of industry news. Who knows, the next job offer may come from one of these sources.
It’s good to be wired into your professional sphere. Takes some amount of disciple but then women are multi-taskers. If we can balance 5 things at a time, 6th thing can find its way in!
Happy networking!
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Image source: shutterstock.
Barnita De is a Bengali by birth, brought up and educated in Kolkata. Working in
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