Are you annoying to network with?

Photo by Humphrey Muleba on Unsplash

When it comes to making an impression while networking, what you don’t do is just as important as what you do. As someone who does a lot of networking, here are the most common missteps that turn me off.

Avoid these common pitfalls to improve your chance of success in broadening your network:

1. Don’t send out LinkedIn invites without explaining why. I almost always reject these. It amazes me that this still happens in this day and age. LinkedIn is a professional networking site, not Facebook or Twitter. Explain how connecting with you will broaden my network or what the purpose of your connecting with me is?
2. Email ping-pong. Instead of asking me if I am free, suggest a couple of time slots or ask me if I have preferred times I want to meet. I still get emails asking “If I am free to chat?” By suggesting time slots ahead of time, you reduce the activation energy and obligate your contact to respond. Additionally, it reduces the email ping pong and prevents your email getting lost in the inbox.
3. Not sending out calendar invites. I always send out a calendar invite to my targets. This makes you look organized and has the added bonus that your contact doesn’t forget about the meeting.
4. Ghosting your connection. Ghosting is an epidemic these days. Networking isn’t immune from this. I think people say yes out of obligation when they have no intent to connect with a possible contact. Or perhaps they forget. Either way, this doesn’t look good on you and puts your contact in an awkward position.
5. Not researching the company or person. There’s nothing more annoying than someone who starts of the conversation with “So what does your company do?” You risk disrespecting the person who has taken 30 min out of their schedule by asking them obvious questions that takes 2 minutes to Google. Do some basic research into the company and read your contact’s career profile to demonstrate that you are proactive.
6. Talking about yourself. Lot of novice professionals mistakenly assume that you have to “big up” yourself when networking by talking about your amazing experience. Nothing could be further from the truth. It’s about being curious and humble to be fascinated with someone’s journey and asking them to share their journey.

If you have made some of these mistakes, don’t sweat it. Networking is a journey that takes a lot of practice to get better at. By avoiding the above mis-steps, you can start your future networking activities on a positive note. If you ask for a job, you will get advice. If you ask for advice, you will get a job.