Last month saw Worcestershire Advance tackle a problem that most of us will face at some stage during our careers – how to network effectively and confidently.

Held at the Worcester Amateur Rugby Club venue, guest speaker James Jarvis from Silver Fox Chambers gave an informative and hugely helpful insight into the world of successful networking. Rather than just seeing networking as a specific activity in a corporate environment, James encouraged people to see networking as something that can be done any place, any time, and that to be truly successful at networking you need to incorporate it into any occasion where you are meeting people. He also gave some great tips, including:

  • Asking for a business card rather than giving one – this gives you the control and enables you to take things forward at a later date
  • Looking for groups of two or three, preferably ‘open-looking’ groups, to go and talk to, or even better, finding people standing on their own – don’t try to infiltrate large, closed-off groups that will be difficult and intimidating to get into.
  • Referring and introducing people to each other, either as a way of stimulating further conversation or as a convenient escape route!

James himself also had the following to say regarding the event:

“One of the most daunting tasks for a young professional is to walk into a room full of strangers, all of whom appear to know each other, and to get involved. It used to scare me rigid. I had to learn behaviour. Doing that gave me confidence. Becoming confident made all the difference.

My main messages for anyone engaged in networking are completely obvious:

1) if you stick with the group you went in with, you won’t meet anyone new;

2) if you create an opportunity but don’t follow it up afterwards, why bother?

I was honoured to be invited to support Worcs Advance at their recent networking event. Over 25 years as a solicitor and more recently as a barrister, I have had the opportunity to lead a large number of young lawyers in the early stages of their careers. Worcs Advance gave me the chance to work with a wider audience of young professionals. I would welcome further involvement.”

It was an enlightening evening, and it seemed that everyone, from seasoned networking pros to absolute beginners, found some helpful advice to take away with them. It’s also a comfort to know that it’s something everyone goes through, and it was great to see so many people exchanging ideas and contributing to such a useful workshop.