How to Network in Football
Welcome to the latest issue of The Football Scientist.
In this week's issue, I'm going to share ways in which you can improve your networking skills in sports science.
Enjoy!
Networking - Why Should I Do It?
Whenever you say the word 'networking' to a sport scientist, you automatically think of slick sales people dressed in a 3 piece suit slipping a business card into your hand with a fake smile.
This is certainly not what networking is about!
Networking is a great way to meet new people with similar interests to you, create career opportunities and hopefully help make you more money in the future.
Networking Mistakes
Ok so let's use LinkedIn for our first example of how to create a good network of contacts. Below are for me the biggest mistakes people make:
Mistake #1 - The Scattergun Approach
Having a ton of followers on social media might look good on paper and give you social proof, but ultimately it won't get you far (unless you want to be an influencer of some sort selling shoes). It is better to make meaningful connections over a longitudinal period than trying to rush things quickly. If you use LinkedIn, I'd suggest using the follow primary approach, so that people can follow your profile by default rather than connecting. Check out this article on how to set it up. This will help filter the number of connections automatically and make you think more selectively who you want to connect with and those you are just happy following your posts. Mistake
#2 - The Selfish Approach
Let's say you want to connect with someone who will help you with your career or solve a particularly problem. Usually this type of person is busy and probably gets tons of requests every day. If you ask to 'pick their brains' for free without giving any value back to them, then it's 99% likely you will never get a reply. You need to show them value in return. Maybe you can share some of their work on your own profile to big them up somewhat. Another way could be helping to introduce them to a third party person who might be able to help them in their career.
Organic Network Growth
Once you have made a new connection, it's equally important that you maintain what you have. Now this doesn't mean you have to phone them every day for a chat. A simple Whatsapp message every now and again will do, or share with them something useful you think they might appreciate.
One of the major benefits I've found over the years growing your network is how it can organically lead to new things. One example of this was meeting a new connection at a sports science conference, where we discussed some ideas for research over a coffee. This then led a year or so later to a publication in a respected journal which was highly cited. Being part of this research meant I met new people in their research group which then led to other secondary papers being published.
Be Yourself
A lot of people think of networking as something a bit cheesy and people come across as 'fake'. Now I've worked in the commercial world and attended tons of sales type events, these people do exist!
But that doesn't mean you have to be the same way. The best way to network in my opinion is by being yourself. Personally, when at a sport science conference I do my own 'beer test' in which I think 'would I share a beer and chat with this person?'. If the answer is yes then often I'll put the effort in to make a new connection and grow my network.
The key part of networking is being yourself - no fake smile, no fake personality, just be yourself.
Thank you for reading, see you next week.
Whenever you're ready, check out how I can help you further:
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