Attending events in your niche and outside of it is a great way to establish connections and build relationships with other medical professionals. After attending a conference, social networking sites such as LinkedIn, Sermo, and Doximity are excellent tools to maintain the connections you've established. Make sure to keep your profile up to date, with a professional photograph and optimize your page with keywords relevant to your field. This way, when potential employers are looking for professionals with your skills, you'll appear on their list.
Smile, be honest with yourself, and share credible and trustworthy information, contacts, and areas of interest. Gain genuine communication and body language skills. Don't falsify or oversell information that could lead to a loss of interest. Share or develop a common interest to move the connection forward.
Follow up honestly, transparently and non-intrusively. Contract work or per diem work is another excellent networking strategy. Whether you want to work additional shifts or are looking for greater scheduling flexibility, these opportunities allow you to be exposed to different practice environments and different locations. This opens the door to new experiences, allowing you to establish unique professional relationships and collaborate with a wide range of healthcare professionals.
One rule that hasn't changed is the importance of follow-up. Fostering a connection by following up is one of the best ways to stand out in the mind of a new or even old contact. Creating professional networks can seem intimidating for recent college graduates or for people who have never tried them before. Sometimes, the best way to differentiate yourself from other people in your field is to have a network of people who know you, can advise and guide you, and even recommend you to other members of your network.
Nearly all professionals understand that networking is an essential professional strategy, but for healthcare professionals, it can be easier said than done. None of these is a question that a doctor should try to answer or address on their own, and this is where the value of creating professional networks for doctors comes into play. Public health professionals have additional online networking options such as BranchOut and Gadball. While networking and knowing the right people often provide access to career opportunities, there is more to be gained from a successful network than simply finding a job.
While networking often takes place online, the importance of public health networking events cannot be underestimated. Online social networks offer several advantages over traditional methods such as increasing the size of your potential contact group. LinkedIn and other business networking sites often require a paid membership to access certain features, limiting your ability to network if you choose to maintain a free plan. Remember that you get what you give, so get out there, participate, be open to new experiences, and get ready to reap the benefits of intelligent professional networks.
As an introvert, networking seemed like a great challenge until I realized that my strong point is listening to and connecting with people individually, and that networking doesn't require anyone to work in an entire room.
