Top 10 places to find Networking events.
Networking is just such a key to success in management and while some are naturally focused on people, others can find a hard time getting started on networking.
I was one of them, however over time I have found a number of good places to look for networking events which I will share below.
Networking events can be everything from events that mainly exist to put people together, to the local football club. Where there’s people, there’s a possibility to network and specially if you are a shy person by nature, it’s a lot easier if it’s something that interests you, as it makes it a lot easier to start talking.
My top 10 places to find events where you can network with likeminded people:
- @work
- Linkedin.com
- Through your network
- The local news paper
- Manager Tools
- Toastmasters.org
- Management communities – CMI/PMI/AMP/ICMP
- Chamber of Commerce
- Meetup.com & Findnetworkingevents.com
- Schools & Learning places in general.
- The easiest place to get started is at work! Attending meetings, training or other events within your company, is key opportunities to get to know the other people attending and building a great network internally. If you attend a meeting with people you don’t know, show up a bit early or stay a bit after to make sure you get to talk with them.
- I love Linkedin for finding networking events, why? First big benefit is that you can see the events that people in your network are attending, it’s a great start knowing someone you know is also going along. The search functionality for events is also great, as you can search for evens in any area.
- Using your network to find events is always a great idea, don’t be shy asking people what type of networking events they attend – If they attend anything that have your interest as well, it is great way to get introduced to a group by a current member.
- The local paper is also great for finding networking opportunities in your local area, so besides the benefit of you getting up to date with the local news, remember to look out for good opportunities to meet other people.
- Manager-tools.com is my favourite place in the world when it comes to management learning and development and as the place has a huge number of people with a common wish to improve their management skills, they are also very interested in networking events and there are generally a lot of meetup’s taking place around the world. Furthermore manager-tools host conferences around the world, where you can meet some fantastic people, so go check them out!
- Toastmasters is a international non-profit organisation that exist in most countries worldwide – The club if focused on teaching people public speaking & leadership skills. Personally this is a places where I have met a large number of fantastic people that I have learned together with and also learn from. There are more then 10.000 clubs worldwide, so get onto toastmasters.org and check of where the nearest club is for you.
- There are many management communities out there, CMI the Chartered Management Institute is one of the ones I have been a member at for a while and as with most things – the more you put into it, the more you get out. They organise great events and there’s a lot of likeminded people.
- Many larger cities have their local chamber of commerce, this is also a great place to find local business people and get to mix with people that are very business focused. Many chambers arrange a number of different types of events which are great to attend.
- Meetup.com & Findnetworkingevents.com is some of many places that are good to find events in your local area. They are very easy to search in and I have found a number of good events on these sites myself.
- Schools/colleges and other learning institutions are great places to learn and great places to meeting other people with similar interest. If you use any places to further your education or to learn new skills, be sure to keep in contact with all the good people you meet.
