What is networking and why do it?

For many of us, the idea of networking can feel challenging. Just the word ‘networking’ can cause a nervous reaction with many of us. It conjures up images of awkward conversations with strangers at conferences.

Ask yourself: do you like any of the following:

• Talking to other people about research ideas?
• Hearing how others are trying to approach similar problems to you, but from a different angle?
• Generating ideas with other people?
• Passing along useful journal articles or job opportunities to your contacts?
• Introducing people to one another?
• Responding to tweets or retweeting useful links and advice?
• Asking others for advice or to share their experience?

These are all examples of networking. In essence, it’s about building relationships and investing in the communities you are part of. It is a reciprocal process: you offer something to the community and ‘pay in’ and you take things and have benefits in return.

• Things have changed dramatically over the past few years in the way we interact, and how we do things like conferences. It can be quite easy to just get your head down and stick to your research, rather than getting out there and doing something which might seem a bit uncomfortable, cynical, nerve wracking or maybe just not even that useful to you.
• There are some simple steps that you can take to make that easier and aligned to your own values and the way you like to work, which we cover in the other sections of this resource.
• It’s also important to realise that networking is something you practice and will get better at over time - if the idea of going up to a well-known, senior researcher at a conference sends you into a panic, you’re not the only one and that’s probably not the best place to start with networking. It might not even be the most useful thing for you anyway at this point. Think about your networking goals, and take it one small step at a time, so that you can gradually learn the skill and what feels good for you.

At a very basic level, we all need contacts to help us work efficiently and navigate the system we’re operating in. It makes sense to build productive working relationships with the people who understand the complexities of a research institute and how to make it work, or where to go when you need something signed off. You might want to find someone in another group who has equipment or a resource that you would like to borrow. If you’ve been here for a while, you might have knowledge or connections that you can use to help other researchers find what they need.

Being able to function effectively as a researcher day to day requires good local networks so you have access to professional services: people who can tell you how to complete an administrative process, apply for local funding: or help you to work out how to get access to a facility or building out of hours.  This type of networking saves us time and frustration.

Having a good network or feeling part of a community is a known factor that boosts our resilience, if only to know we are not on our own, but sometimes it’s helpful to be able to talk things through with peers, or a mentor, who really understands how it feels when a paper is rejected or an experiment didn’t go to plan, and can commiserate and help you pick yourself back up and re-plan. 

Our peers can help us to let off steam, they can give us useful feedback to boost our confidence and can share their own coping skills or short cuts to navigate the world of research.  They are also there to help us celebrate our minor, and major, successes… And they will be best placed to understand what those successes mean for us.

There are very few researchers who can have a successful career without collaborating with partners from other disciplines, institutions, countries, cultures, and sectors.  It is likely that at some point you will want to collaborate with someone outside of your immediate area.  You only need to look at the number of authors on a typical journal article, or the themes for major funding calls, to see that, as we are tackling larger and more complex challenges, we need to connect with researchers in other fields who can bring different skills or approaches to the problem.

The boundaries of disciplines are where the exciting ideas are, and if you are pursuing an independent research career, it’s essential that you understand how your research interacts with and is seen and understood by others. Use the advice contained in this networking resource to think about how to raise your visibility, but also how you might build trust and understand the different cultures in different sectors.

Many of you will be on fixed term contracts and so a key goal in your current position will be to find your next job or grant. There are two key types of career networking:

1. making the most of opportunities to raise your profile, build reputation or gain skills and experience to help you to get ready and be competitive for a future role or funding.
2. exploring all the potential opportunities and careers that are open to you: finding roles or sectors to work in or uncovering the hidden job market (where not everything is advertised) or routes into employment. This type of networking can provide you with insights into your own strengths and preferences for your career, which will help you to make informed decisions in the future.