6 Benefits of Networking That Can Help Your Career

Professional networking can play an important role in your career development and is something you should invest time in prioritizing regularly.

Aside from simply building connections, having an established network in place can go a long way throughout different stages of your career — from learning about new job opportunities and gaining career advice to finding avenues for feedback to help you with your professional growth.

What is Networking?

Effective networking is centered around building connections and deep relationships that can help enhance your reputation, build confidence and, over time, advance your career. Your network will likely be a blend of people from different facets of your life (e.g., coworkers, friends, family, business connections, social acquaintances). Your relationships with these individuals will look different across your network, but each can bring valuable, and unique, perspectives that can help you throughout your career.

What are the Benefits of Networking?

Professional networking involves investing time into developing relationships. It can be rewarding as you meet and get to know people who can add value to your career — and even help you find new job opportunities.

Here are six networking benefits:

1. Networking Allows Access to New Information

It's human nature to enjoy being in your comfort zone and that’s no different when it comes to work. While you might feel comfortable in your current role, taking a habitual approach to your job or career where you don’t continue to challenge yourself can hold you back. Not only can it slow your professional development, but it can also limit you from gaining exposure to new technologies or better ways of working.

Proactively seeking alternative perspectives and new ideas from your network can help you to solve problems, view challenges through a different lens and improve both your personal and professional development.

Leveraging a professional network is also a great way to keep on top of the latest trends in the market or hear about new opportunities with companies you might like to work for. By connecting with people outside of your immediate circle of direct coworkers or friends, you’ll build knowledge and a broader awareness which may, at some stage, help or better inform your career decisions.

2. Networking Raises Your Personal Profile

Building meaningful connections with people tends to happen over a gradual period through multiple interactions. Meeting with a diverse group of people on a regular basis can help build your personal brand and enhance your visibility in the industry or market you work in.

Regularly meeting with people in your network or attending industry events is a great way to build and maintain connections and help raise your profile. Individuals at industry events are likely relevant to your career and can be great at introducing you to professional contacts within their own network, which could turn into valuable connections in the future when you’re looking to make a career change.

3. Networking Can Help Advance Your Career

It goes without saying that the broader your network, the more people there are who know you and in turn can vouch for you. When it comes to career opportunities and advancement, who you know — or who knows you — is often just as important as your skills.

By building a good reputation through networking, you are more likely to be remembered and contacted when job opportunities arise. Having a strong connection with a recruiter is also a great way to help elevate your profile and gain access to new job opportunities.

Many recruiters often have access to some of the best opportunities in the market or connections with companies who hire exclusively through their partnership, so even if you’re not looking for a career move right now, investing time in building a strong partnership with your recruiter could open the door for opportunities in the future.