"I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me."
- Ralph Ellison
While I don't intend, in any way, to echo the themes and issues posed in Ellison's novel "The Invisible Man", admittedly I did copy the title of my blog from Ellison. The quote above can be equated to modern day networking in that as a networker you need to be "seen" by your peers. Ellison's narrator constantly laments being invisible. Simply put, visibility is the core goal of networking. Becoming visible in a way that showcases themselves and their abilities is the struggle every professional has in building their network.
You need to be seen by your network and to be known by your network. Networking is the building of relationships and trust in the professional context. Basically, networking is no different than building personal relationships. A strong network will consist of people you can rely on, and who in return can rely on you.
This is the first installment of my new blog centering on networking today. I will share personal experiences as well as contribute essays on relevant aspects of professional relationship building. The hope is that my experiences will illustrate building relationships in different social settings as well as specific networking events. Secondly, I hope to offer some useful insight by contributing the aforementioned essays. Until next time.
Nate
- Ralph Ellison
While I don't intend, in any way, to echo the themes and issues posed in Ellison's novel "The Invisible Man", admittedly I did copy the title of my blog from Ellison. The quote above can be equated to modern day networking in that as a networker you need to be "seen" by your peers. Ellison's narrator constantly laments being invisible. Simply put, visibility is the core goal of networking. Becoming visible in a way that showcases themselves and their abilities is the struggle every professional has in building their network.
You need to be seen by your network and to be known by your network. Networking is the building of relationships and trust in the professional context. Basically, networking is no different than building personal relationships. A strong network will consist of people you can rely on, and who in return can rely on you.
This is the first installment of my new blog centering on networking today. I will share personal experiences as well as contribute essays on relevant aspects of professional relationship building. The hope is that my experiences will illustrate building relationships in different social settings as well as specific networking events. Secondly, I hope to offer some useful insight by contributing the aforementioned essays. Until next time.
Nate
