Wolfie's Workplace: Career Chats
Wolfie's Workplace: Career Chats
Networking Perspectives and Tips
In this episode, we are chatting with Amy Sellors, a local communications expert, about best practices when networking, why we should network, and the best job-searching advice. Join us to learn about how to get started on your networking journey!
Hello and welcome to Wolfe's workplace career chats, where we discuss everything and anything careers related. Our goal is to connect students with opportunities to explore their life path, field skills and networks, and gain knowledge of how to succeed in their chosen industry to support employment and cultivate the motivation to persist and complete their studies. But regardless of whether you're a student or not, please feel free to join. Welcome on in. I am your host Sophia Vega, and I am the career zones, employee relations specialist. Today I will be speaking with Amy Sellers. Amy, would you be able to provide us with a brief bio?
Amy:Sure, my name is Amy Sellers and I am a communications expert with more than 25 years of experience working with clients across north. My primary focus is to improve communication for, people who work in businesses for people who work anywhere, e to help people and businesses achieve their full potential. I've worked with thousands of adults, both individually and in groups on networking con resolution objection, handling, cold calling team building customer service skills, negotiation, strateg. Presentation skills, coaching, professional development, and change management. So lots of different areas. I'm also a professional actor and I have spent 30 years working across stages in Canada, all over the place. And I, from a business standpoint, I combined the skills that I know from theater, with the skills that I know from business to create engaging environments where professionals can tackle and master difficult convers.
Safia:It sounds like you have a lot of experience. And I just love the fact that you're combining your acting experience with professional networking and communications. That's just so fascinating that you manage to integrate both into your career.
Amy:It's funny to realize how there's such a crossover between the two that both of them are. Presenting yourself telling a story, connecting with someone that the objectives are the same every time. And one of the key skills in acting is one of the best skills in business. And it's underrated in both, which is listening.
Safia:okay. Well, I would love for you to expand upon that, in today's episode. So just going into that today's episode is an introduction to the world of networking in which we will be answering a few important questions about how to get started as somebody looking for an ideal job. So maybe you've been applying to jobs on job banks, or you don't really know how to get started with job searching. This is the right place for you to learn about the best methods to achieve an ideal career in a workplace of your interest. So let's get started. Firstly, why is networking important? Why is it something that students should learn how to do?
Amy:Networking is really crucial these days for getting a job. Getting a job is stressful, no matter what and the world has changed. We always think that an employer is looking for, your resume and where you went to school and your qualifications and all of that. I mean, that stuff's important, but what they also want are personality traits. They wanna. Who you are as a person and how you're going to fit with a team, cuz it's really great to get someone who's super qualified and super knowledgeable on your team at work. But if they don't connect well with anyone on your team, then. That doesn't work very well. Then your workplace is not a harmonious place to be. So networking is a way for employers to cut through some of that, make the hiring process more efficient and help make sure they're hiring the right person the first time. So that's why networking is important to business. And then obviously if that's what businesses wanna do, then those of us looking for jobs, we need to follow the same.
Safia:So it is extremely important for students to learn how to network, to land an ideal job in the future. And it is a skill that you grow and develop as well. Mm-hmm how do I gain a career through networking and what if I don't gain a career by networking?
Amy:Well, the first thing I wanna say is networking. Isn't a straight line to exactly what you want. You don't say, okay, today I'm gonna go out and network. I'm gonna meet the perfect person and tomorrow I'm gonna have a job. Woo. I mean, networking is a mindset. It's a process that you do. so how you gain a career by networking is meeting new people. Being interesting. And then hopefully those people introduce you to more people and you go out and look for more people and you gradually like a spider web. You expand this network of people that you know, and if you have been able to demonstrate who you are and show great qualities of yourself in these conversations, then. Somewhere along the way. Someone's probably got a job for you. and, or can connect you to someone else and say, Hey, I like this person. They're a great fit. You should meet them. And that's how networking will help you gain the career that you want. It's possible to get a career without networking. Sure. I mean, people still post jobs. it's just getting more and more challenging because employers are seeing networking as a really efficient way to hire and. Recruiters are also using networking as a tool to get a base of people that they can use to send out. So it's becoming an industry standard. Particularly in thunder bay, I'll also say, cuz thunder, Bay's a little like an island. If you wanna get a job here, you need to know people. And I know this cuz I was new to thunder bay at one point and I had to go out and meet a lot of people on network. Because here it is a lot about who you know, and who you are networked with. And if you don't know people, it's hard to get in the room.
Safia:Absolutely. And I think that networking, like you said, is the long process. So you can't expect to just meet somebody and get a job the next day. It's a lengthy process of building relationships and making more long term and meaningful connections. And
Amy:it's not, and you don't stop when you get the job. I mean, that's the thing and what's great about networking. Is it doesn't just lead to employment. I mean, It helps lead you to making new friends and finding new activities that you wanna do. And learning about new parts of the city that you're living in. There's, there's a lot that networking can do for you. So it isn't like you decide I'm gonna network. And once I get a job, I never have to do it again. Because you may want a career after that in a different area, you may want your career to take you places. So the goal is you just build a network of people who think you're awesome and start recommending you for stuff. Yeah.
Safia:And networking in general, isn't only limited to, for example, meeting employers and career fairs, like you can network. just by meeting anybody anywhere and just having, making a connection and following up with that connection,
Amy:I don't know what it is about the produce section of my grocery store but the amount of networking type business type. like there are high level conversations going on the pro in the produce section of my grocery store. It is a very strange thing. I'm not no word of a lie. The number of times I'm like, oh, look at those. I know those people, oh, they're doing that. You're like, oh, it's the grocery store. I love that.
Safia:And something else that you brought up was that, networking can introduce you to opportunities that you might not even have known. Did exactly. Yeah. And that also helps with job searching. So if you don't even know what kind of field you wanna go into, or you're looking to just gain experience in a certain place, then networking will absolutely expose you to those opportunities.
Amy:Yeah. And there are times when, if somebody thinks you're amazing and interesting and have skills that other people don't have, sometimes they even create positions for you. Like they think I want you in the company, let's figure out how we can fit you in. it's a very different. Way of looking at employment and it's really the way of the future.
Safia:Absolutely. And like, it just goes to show that through networking, you can gain a job that is best suited for you and your interests as
Amy:well. Exactly. You totally touched on it there. So obviously we're always thinking I need a job. I'm desperate to hire me, hire me. But if you get hired somewhere that isn't the right fit for you, then you won't be happy and you'll just be out looking for another job anyway. To me. One of the main aspects of networking is you get to meet the people that you may wind up working with before you agree to work with them. And then you have an idea whether or not this will be a good fit for you as well, because ultimately we have to be happy in what we're doing.
Safia:Yeah, that's very true. And so just through this short conversation, we're learning so many benefits of networking mm-hmm and I think we can kind of delve into now some more concrete tips on networking. So are there any tips you have for virtual networking and how does this compare to networking in person? I think
Amy:the skills are the same because ultimately it's about communication. Whether you are, face to face with a person in a room, or whether you are looking at them on a computer screen, you're still trying to connect with them. So the idea of asking questions and listening and trying to help them and connecting with them, that's all the same. Those are the same skills. Couple zoom tips or, or virtual tips, I'll say is your background behind you is important. There, I can't describe the number of times. There is a cluttered mess behind somebody and all I do is stare at it and it's impossible not to cuz we all get distracted by little things. So the, the difference with zoom or teams or whatever platform you're, you may be networking on is that you do have some control of your environment and you need to use that to your advantage.
Safia:And I think that it's definitely something that students are getting used to, or had to get used to at the start of the pandemic is we have virtual career fairs, virtual information sessions with employers. So it's definitely something that students needed to learn to adjust. Too. So for example, like you said, the background thing and also microphone quality, having your camera on lighting mm-hmm lighting,
Amy:lighting is everything like. Think about early pandemic. You just got people who were sitting in front of a window and were fully back lit. So you're just seeing like a blob. With a bright light behind them. You're like, okay, this is gonna be a great conversation.
Safia:Yeah. And the thing is that first impressions do matter. They
Amy:do. I would love to say that we don't notice these things, but you know, if you're in person, you're meeting someone for the first time and their shirt looks like they've thrown it up in a ball in the back of their car and then they put it on and it's all rumpled. You're gonna notice that and think, oh, that person doesn't care much about their appearance or professionalism or whatever that may. And it's the same thing with the part of your home or office or whatever that you show the world on zoom that needs to be up to the same level of presentation skills so that you are saying, details matter. This conversation was important. That's what tidying your room behind you says when you get onto an online, networking
Safia:session. Yeah. And I think that's also kind of the beauty of online networking is that you can have a little stage for yourself set up. Mm. And you can use that to your advantage. Yeah. Alrighty. So what is the most difficult part of networking and how can students overcome it? I.
Amy:When I talk to people about networking, the biggest obstacle or barrier is fear. We are nervous about talking to new people for the first time. Like, oh my God, a stranger. I have to talk to them. Ah, what are we gonna say? I don't know how it's gonna go. And we get this sense of fear that then makes us uncomfortable and awkward. So to me, I think the fear is the biggest barrier or obstacle. and I think it's an, it's something that you can easily get over. Here's one of the times I take my acting mindset and I apply it here because as an actor, I've absolutely gotten nervous before I have to walk on stage for the next two hours and sing or dance or dancer, do a big monologue or whatever. And what I do is I take that fear and I go, okay, fear. you're there. I can't make you go away, but your energy and I can use you. So instead I take that fear and I say, I'm gonna take all the energy that you're trying to do to throw me off course. And I'm gonna redirect you to help me do what I want to do so we can't push it away. We just have to acknowledge it and work with it. Then you work on changing your mindset. We often think that networking is about, you know, having the right thing to say and being perfect and, knowing how to sound confident and you don't feel those things and you don't know what to say. and I would say that networking is really about getting to know somebody else, what they're passionate about and trying to find connections. which we do all the time. When we meet people, if you go to a, a gathering a party with friends, you meet new people and you just get to talk with them and you learn new things about them. And it's easy. It's the same thing in business. You just wanna make sure you're talking about the right kinds of passions.
Safia:right. Yeah. And I think that it's important to just be yourself as
Amy:well. Oh my goodness. Absolutely. you don't know who an employer is looking to. you have no idea. They, we always think, oh, I have to be extroverted. I have to be polished. I have to be this. I have to be that. Most employers are looking to create a cohesive team of employees that work together and connect well. So depending on who they've already got, you have no idea what they're looking for. So B yourself, because a it's easier And B it will, it will help them see whether or not you'll fit, because if you pretend to be something you're not, and then you get hired, then you're stuck pretending to be something that you're not every day you work there.
Safia:That is very true. Yeah. So integrity, just sticking to who you are and just going for it. And yeah, honestly, it's something that you will build more confidence in over time as you practice more. You'll get better. Yeah. And
Amy:think about your group of friends. Your friends are not all like you or the same. Like we have groups of friends that all are unique and. We like to have a different group of people that bring different skills to the
Safia:table. Absolutely. So what if a student has never networked before? What are some tips on getting started? So
Amy:there's some preparation, definitely that I think is helpful. So if you, whether or not you're going to a networking event, or you just wanna be prepared for when the opportunity may arise in the produce section, you wanna be ready? You wanna have done some research ahead of time. So you use the internet, you use social media, you use LinkedIn to research, make the industry that you're in, companies that you might wanna work with, any local people that you might happen to run into. if you're going to a networking event, you might know who's coming to the event, cuz that might be published, but you wanna do a little bit of. why you wanna do this research is that you wanna formulate interesting questions to ask. And the more information you have, the easier it is to ask questions. We always think that networking is I'm gonna walk into the room and go, hi, this is my name, and this is what I do. And here's all the things on my resume. That's not it. You're not going in there to present yourself. You're going in there to have a conversation. And then hopefully they'll ask you things about your. And then you can share some information and that's the next step. So it's it's mindset, it's preparation. And then you want to make sure that you have identified which key strengths you would like to show and have some talking points ready so that if someone asks you a question, you can share information about yourself that
Safia:furthers the convers. And I think also, building on what we previously discussed,, first impressions matter as well. So just, making sure that you look presentable absolutely.
Amy:What is it? Andre, Leon tally. The fashion icon was like, you know, dressing. Well as a moral code, you don't have to spend money, but you have to look like you care
Safia:Yeah. And to be honest, like it does help you feel better as
Amy:well. Oh my goodness. Absolutely. Yeah. If you feel like you are clean and polished and ready to go, you will feel more confident. And the thing is people aren't, I mean, maybe there are people who are just confident. Naturally they wake up in the morning and they're like, oh, I'm confident. But I think most people struggle with that at different times, depending on where they are, what they're doing. And we all have to fake it till we make it a little bit. Like we all have to go, okay, I'm a little nervous. I'm gonna do my best to look like I know what I'm doing here. And once you start acting confident, funnily enough, you start feeling more confident.
Safia:I definitely relate to that, on a personal level. So what are some tips you would give to students facing barriers? So an example, being a student with anxiety, ADHD, or students from equity, seeking groups, such as indigenous students,
Amy:I don't have a lot of different advice here because I, I will go back to what I said about, you don't know what an employer's looking for. And so I think it's, again, mindset, be yourself, be authentic, bring to the table, your best qualities. And that may be exactly what someone is looking for. Another thing. I'm thinking about the times that I've sat on the other side of the table, when I've hired people in business, cuz I've hired a lot of people in business and I've also been behind the table when people are auditioning, the person on the hiring side desperately wants to hire you. They don't wanna go through 60 people to try and find the right person for the job. If they brought you into the room, they want you to be there. If they're talking to you, they want to get to know you. So I think really. It's about not limiting your mindset to what you think they want. It's about just being the best, most interesting you, you can be and finding a way to show that.
Safia:Does that make sense? Absolutely. And I think it really comes down to, like, we've been talking about this entire time is just presenting yourself as yourself. Yeah. So what resources can be used to support networking?
Amy:The internet obviously does everything that amazing internet, Google, LinkedIn, social media, you want to look up, the people that you might be meeting the businesses or industries that you need to talk about and need to know things about, you, I mean, if you, some people have open Facebook or Instagram accounts and you can learn simple things. Like they have a dog, they like to swim in alike. You know, whatever it is, you learn little things about them and you don't walk up to them and go, oh, I see you have a German shepherd, cuz that's creepy. But if you have a dog and they have a dog, then that's something you could connect over. The more you learn about people, the easier it is to find common ground. So that's a resource. There are all sorts of, helpful articles online that you can use to find, you know, questions to ask in a networking event. there's lots of resources. I will say the best resource is getting a friend or maybe even a stranger and practicing with them. That's the best resource.
Safia:That's an awesome tip.
Amy:You can read every article. There is on networking that exists on Google. You can read them all and that may help you understand intellectually how to do it. And then when you get to talk to a person as a whole other set of.
Safia:Yeah. And that's why I would recommend even first years, who might not be looking for a job right away to practice networking at the events that we put on such as career fairs, because even gaining that practice is so important and it's going to be important when you're in your third year and about to graduate and then you're looking for a
Amy:job. Absolutely. definitely take advantage of any networking opportunity. And I think what's great here at the university where you have career fairs and networking events. The people coming in know that these are students who are learning things like there's a little bit of forgiveness around, around making a gaff or two and not coming out exactly the way you'd want because, they understand that it's a learning process. So take advantage of that, but I'm also gonna say if you are at a party or at an event or somewhere where there's people you don't know, try and connect with. you know, find a way, the number of times I've been standing at an art gallery or something, and you look up at a piece of art and all you do is you ask the person to decide you what they think of it. You know, what do you think about this? I find it really interesting. What do you think? And then you start a conversation with a stranger and it may only be a few sentences long, but that's practicing network.
Safia:Exactly. And I think whether it's practice or whether just a short interaction, which might turn into something more long term,, it's really important to just try and put yourself out there. Exactly. I
Amy:mean, let's go back to the grocery store. You pick up some fennel and you go, do you know how to cook this? You
Safia:might find a great recipe. You might find a great
Amy:recipe, but you're also practicing networking at the same time. And I know that's like small and networking, cuz it's not designed to get you a job necessarily. Unless you wanna work in culinary. but it will help you get used to talking to people and help that little scared voice inside that says, I don't like this. It will help that voice to, to be quelled because you'll realize that bad things don't happen when you talk to new.
Safia:Absolutely. And you should think like what's the worst that could happen. And, and there really
Amy:aren't a lot of there aren't a lot of things. Like I remember as a kid, I would always think, oh, I don't wanna call for a pizza because like, I don't know what's gonna happen. A friend of mine was like, well, they're not gonna say no, like it's a pizza. Just call the worst is you'll get a pizza. Maybe you'll pay too much for it. Cuz you ordered the wrong size. Whoop do you do?
Safia:Yeah. And at the, at the end of it, it's a learning process. So every interaction that you have will allow you to grow a little bit more.
Amy:Exactly. And I think that's, as we become more and more dependent on technology for communication, we lose that. Ability, I guess is the right word. We lose the ability to have spontaneous conversations with people we don't know. And sometimes even with people, we do know like having difficult conversations. that's been a lot of my focus in my career is helping people practice a difficult conversation, whatever that means, whether it's you can't have that loan, I need to fire you, your team isn't performing well, you know,, I know you want this rate on your mortgage, but you can't have it. those are all difficult conversations. And I think as we use technology to communicate, instead of our voices, more and more conversations, feel D.
Safia:Yes. And so this is something that I'm really glad that we're talking about, to show that it's something that is very achievable and it just needs practice. Mm-hmm so what is your top strategy for success in networking?
Amy:There's, there's one sort of governing rule. I think it applies to most communication, but it absolutely applies in networking, which is, it's not about what you wanna say. It's about what they need to. I love that line. And it makes sense. Yeah. Like we always think about here's what I wanna say, what I wanna say. And now imagine you're having a conversation with someone who's just telling you about themselves. It's about making the other person feel good in the conversation. People don't always remember everything you say, but they will remember how talking to you made them. So if you get someone to talk about themselves, or if you can help them solve a problem that they mention to you, then they feel good. And then they think what a great person I liked talking to this person. And they remember you and they hopefully connect you to other people and make your networking spider web expand more.
Safia:Yeah. I love that line. every time I hear you say it, I'm like, okay, remember that it's important.
Amy:I mean, honestly, in every type of workshop or individual coaching that I do, I always come back to it because it's, it just makes it so simple. It's about other people, you know, that people talk about the 80, 20 rule that you should be listening 80% of the time and talking 20% of the time. And. We wanna facilitate other people talking to us more than we want to blurt out all the things about us.
Safia:And it's interesting to hear what people have to say as well.
Amy:Absolutely. And you learn new things. You already know what you think. Why do you wanna go through that all the time? Like learn about other people. It's way more interesting. it can get scary cuz you don't know what they're gonna say, but that's when you just go. Oh, that's interesting. Tell me more about
Safia:that. Mm-hmm just asking for them to expand and you can learn so much mm-hmm so what's the biggest takeaway that you hope listeners learn?
Amy:well it's about other people it comes back to that. It's not about what you wanna say. It's about what they need to hear. So I jumped the gun on that one. Oh, in practice practice. Oh yes, yes, absolutely. Let's go back to that practice. Everything because knowing things intellectually doesn't mean you can do them. You can, you know, if I use this example, it'll make me seem really old. But, um, I remember when I got you on VCR for the first time and you read the book and you go, great, I've read the book. I know how to use a VCR. And then you sit down. You're like, I have no idea how this works. Do I have to explain what a VCR is now? oh, maybe
Safia:But yes. Thank you so much, Amy. You've brought a lot of important, tips and knowledge about networking forward. And this brings us to the conclusion of this episode. So thank you so much for joining in. And this has been a really insightful discussion about the importance of practicing and listening to other people,, and,, there's just so much that students can start with. And I think that this episode is going to be quite helpful. If students are a little bit nervous, in starting their networking journey. so if there's any resources that we've mentioned in this episode, those will be linked in our show notes. And as always the career zone at Lakehead university is eager to support your career journeys. So feel free to reach out@anytimeorvisitourwebsiteatlakehead.ca slash career zone. To obtain more information, see you in the next episode, and good luck with your networking journey.