Why Networking is Important to Your Career
Why Networking is Important to Your Career
In every profession, it can be crucial to network with people in order to grow and enhance your career. In networking, you can meet with other professionals in your field, exchange ideas, and even learn new skills. Developing professional and personal relationships with others in your field allows you to enhance your career as you meet new people who have different perspectives and footholds where you may not. During International Networking Week, it’s important for the University of Fairfax to recognize just how important networking can be for anyone looking to move up in their career and meet like-minded professionals.
Why is Networking Important?
- Make Yourself Known
It’s important to get yourself out there and network with professionals so that more people know of the talents and skills you have. This can be beneficial if you’re looking for a job or looking to get into an industry that has your eye. Putting yourself out there can allow you to market your abilities.
- Exchange of New Ideas
Networking is not only in professional settings, but in personal ones, like in classes at UoF. You can meet with your fellow students and exchange information and knowledge to benefit you in your future career. Not only that but creating a network with your classmates can benefit your future in the same way a professional network would. At the University of Fairfax, you can meet students from all over the world that can build your network and enhance your understanding of your field.
- Builds Your Reputation
Arguably one of the most beneficial reasons to network is to build your reputation in your field. Networking can help you establish a reputation as someone with skill, who is reliable and supportive, and professional. This can help you eventually become regarded as an expert in your field, or it can help you find new job ventures, like becoming a business partner.
- Gives You a Support System
At any point in your career, you could find yourself struggling or needing help to get over a rough patch, be that in the work itself or finding a new job among a few reasons. Having a network you can depend on will allow you to get through struggles with support as opposed to shouldering them all alone. And likewise, you can be that support system for someone in your network.
- Promotes Your Business
When you network, you can promote your own business or the business you are working for as you meet new people in your industry. This can not only increase your customer base as you build awareness of your brand – the more people that know about it, the better! Not only that, but you can get to know who else is dominating your field so that you can understand your market more and even produce a better product.
For most, networking boosts your career by meeting like-minded individuals in your industry that can bring you new opportunities and knowledge. At the University of Fairfax, we not only allow you to meet students from around the globe, but to earn your education from professors that are selected from our global networks. Our professors are career professionals – they know the ins and outs of your field and have a network all their own. They are invaluable resources that can help teach you how to build your own supportive network. As current Doctor of Information Assurance Student, Ali Rah, says, “each of [my professors] impacted my life somehow, in some way. It’s like building a puzzle—all of them contribute to this puzzle in a positive way.” To learn more about our online education and how our university grants you the chance to build a global network, go to ufairfax.edu.
The University of Fairfax – Secure Your Future