Picture by: Kofi Yeboah
Networking is when like-minded people meet and discuss about mutual opportunities that will benefit them. It involves sharing ideas with people of similar interest. Many graduates complete school without having any network of friends who will be of great help to them. Many of these graduates sit in lecture rooms and do not even bother to greet or say hello to the next person sitting next to them. Networking with friends has been one of the tools for success confirmed by many successful people.
Networking is an essential part of building wealth. Andrewws Williams
Your opportunity might be sitting next to you and all you need to grab it is to say hello or greet, lets put away our pride and do what we will one day benefit from. Make friends with people who are even not reading the same programme with you. These are some of the essentials things that winners do. In this our 21st century, its all about recommendation and this will be done by the very people we meet daily.
Robert Kiyosaki says, “The richest people in the world look for and build networks, everyone else looks for work.”
If graduates are going to take over the world then they need to master the skill of networking, ability to communicate with people from every part of the world. I have seen the power of networking in so many ways and how it has worked in my favour. In this world, people recommend who they know for contracts. My young mentor, Ato Ulzen Appiah once said,
it is not about who you know that can get you the job or contract, but it is who knows what you know that gets you the job.
In other words, people will recommend you only if they know you are good for it. It can also mean that people will not recommend you even if you are an expert because they do not know you. Have friends across all sectors especially my dear students, do not look at other students who are studying other programmes as inferior. The tables will one day turn around. In my search for answers and confirmation of the power of networking, I reached out to some outstanding young people in the world who are effecting positive change to share their thoughts on the essence of Networking.
“Networking helps to increase an individual’ human resource assets. you’re able to have a pool of people to call for help in your career development. Networking helps to increase your opportunities as each network is capable of informing you of any available opportunity.” Emmanuel Woyome, Career Coach, & Destiny Pathfinder. He helps people to find their place in life for effectiveness & fulfillment He writes, speaks, coaches and trains on Career & Personal Development. He is the author of two books.
“How far you go in life is directly proportionate to who you know. It sounds like a cliche, but there is a lot of luck involved in business, financial success, career climbing, however, the more people you know, the luckier you get. Networking is the vehicle for luck.” Simon Dixon, has worked with venture capitalists and helped companies go public, raised angel finance for his first business, he has helped businesses raise alternative finance, written two books on the future of banking, Simon Dixon has the passion to work with entrepreneurs and do something a bit disruptive in the banking sector. CEO BankToTheFuture.com
“The essence of networking is to provide a strategic (personal advertising) outlook to an external audience. It activates deep entrenched knowledge, capability and competence. The youth must embrace the culture of networking to encapsulate the mechanism of success and unimpeded breakthrough.” Daniel Bonsu, Chief Consultant/Co-Founder, Golden Africa Group · London, United Kingdom.
“Your success Quotient = 2(connectivity quotient) + 3(quality of connections)”. Charles Kofi Fekpe, Chartered certified accountant, I am also the Managing Consultant of CFEKPE Consulting Ltd and also a Published Writer.
“One of the most essential skills you need to have in order to grow in your career is networking skills. I have worked with and been helped by many people that I have met through networking. And it should always be reciprocal. Working alone is not an option in today’s world”. Dr. Yemisi Akinbobola, visiting lecturer at Birmingham City University, founder and editor-in-chief of IQ4News.
“It’s not about “who you know” but about “who knows what you know”. Networking allows you to expand your knowledge base, increase the number of people who can deliver skills and resources you might need as well. By making people know what you know, they are able to find and recommend you for opportunities.” Ato Ulzen-Appiah, co-founder Museke.com, an African music website. Initiator of BarcampGhana.
“Find and/or make a peer network of passionate doers as your core base (80% of your focus), and then continue to interact with all of kinds of people (20%), understanding what others are looking for and helping them out (60%), while sharing what you are passionate about (40%), and a powerful flow will rapidly develop and grow” Todd Porter Co-founder IMPACT Foundation Japan / TEDxTokyo.
Networking is one powerful element that aids in achieving ones goal in their area of interest. Though people underestimate it, one ought to take it seriously to build a personal ecosystem. In Ghana, we build our first level and lifetime networks from Secondary School. However in my opinion, every time you meet someone, you ought to move from trying to be the only island with one route to being an island that has many routes to other islands. It’s about making an impression and a connection in a matter of second. How do we achieve this? Being polite, open and maintaining integrity. Nehemiah Kwesi TT Senyo Yelu Attigah, an experienced software engineer, project manager, business analyst,Microsoft Dynamics specialist ,a blogger, and entrepreneur. He is a member of the Ghana Think (BarCamp Ghana) and BloggingGhana’s BlogCamp Teams.
“The thing about networking is that it has ‘exponential effects’. Take the old idea of ‘six degrees of separation’, that is the notion that everyone can connect to anyone on the globe through a maximum of six intermediate contacts. It follows that the greater the diversity of one’s network, the higher the relevance of contacts to one’s likely goals and ambitions, since contacts are more likely to be ‘connections’ rather than mere acquaintances. To my mind, young people can do nothing better than diversifying the networks to which they belong.” B. Simons is the Director of Development Research at IMANI, and the Coordinator of the mPedigree Network. He performs a range of functions for IMANI related to social marketing, research and coordinating alliances.
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