Building connections within your organization is extremely important to your career. Strong partnerships with colleagues, mentors, and mentees allow you to collaborate, complete projects, and reach goals as a team. This foundation of trust and cooperation is key to a thriving company culture and happy employees.
However, this kind of relationship-building shouldn’t be limited to within your own company. In fact, one could argue that collaborating outside of your organization is even more crucial to your career development. At Think IT, a service of York Solutions, we strive to foster professional growth through the power of networking. These are some of the reasons we believe so strongly in our mission.
Interacting with others in your field – who offer a variety of experiences and perspectives – makes you better at what you do. You have access to a network of professionals with whom you can exchange guidance and resources. And you also have the chance to practice how you present yourself to your peers outside your company, developing your own personal brand.
Becoming friends with people in diverse organizations opens your eyes to fresh ideas and points of view. By hearing what other professionals are working on, struggling with, or successfully implementing, you will gain valuable knowledge and insight. Every company, big or small, utilizes different roadmaps, strategies, and technologies that you can learn from. Tapping into what others are doing is a great way to test new approaches and improve your company’s operations.
When you get to know interesting people outside of your everyday work life, you expand your horizons. A casual conversation with a professional acquaintance may lead to a helpful bit of advice or even a new career opportunity. When you stay connected to a group of people within your industry, you all look out for one another. You pass along open positions or professional opportunities, and you create a safety net to fall back on in case one of you is faces a challenge like losing a job.
Ultimately, taking the time to network and connect with others has enormous professional and personal benefits. Networking requires you to put in some time and effort to building genuine relationships – but it’s well worth the investment.
Learn more about Think IT’s professional development groups.