One of the benefits of networking is that it’s a great way of improving your interviewing skills. The logic is simple. If you want to become a better actor, act. To become a better writer, write. And to become better at interviewing, interview. Networking conversations are like low-stress, high-impact, self-initiated interviews. By having lots of these mini-conversations when you aren’t under pressure, you get better at explaining what you want people to know about you. And the more you do it, the more skilled and focused you become.
“But I hate small talk,” people sometimes protest. Then don’t engage in small talk. Talk about things of interest to you and others. One sure-fire way of feeding a conversation is to try to discover what’s of keen interest to the other person, then talk more about that. Offer some helpful ideas. Don’t assume, “Oh, she’s probably already thought of that.” Maybe not. And of course you can steer the course of the conversation by inserting information about your own interests also. READ MORE
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