If I Knew Then - Networking

How many times have you said that if you knew then what you know now, you would have done things differently? Well when the opportunity presents itself, the ability to capitalize on that stored knowledge is indispensable. For anyone going through the steps of a career change, you have the opportunity to use your past experiences to gain an advantage on this new path.

As I continue (having only attended two classes) on my path toward becoming a financial advisor, I’ve decided to do one thing I wish I had done more of in my first (current) career. What is it? Network.

In my mind there are three levels of networking. The first is to do nothing. You may gather contacts throughout your career but there won't be many and they won't necessarily consider you a contact of any merit. The second level is to meet new people, maybe even actively seek out new contacts but it's not something you do often. This second level is very passive and while you may be able to call on these contacts for limited help and advice, they just as easily may forget you or not even take your call. This is probably the level I've been at throughout my current career.

The third level of networking requires its own paragraph. In this level, the level I seek to work at, you are an active networker, what I call a schmoozer. I've always given the term schmoozer a negative connotation but it doesn't have to be. If you schmooze in a fake way, then it carries a negative tone but if you schmooze because you genuinely want to help others as well as get to know different people, then there’s nothing wrong with it. If you understand that networking is a two way street then you know that once you're established, you'll be called on more often then you call on others. The schmoozer recognizes this and actually enjoys the opportunity to help others because he knows that it's just another credit he can call in later.

I attended my first networking opportunity the other night. It was a sort of career night for financial planning students to get a feel for the various opportunities available. As I hinted in my first post on this subject, this is a long process. I don't plan on moving to the looking for a job phase until late 2007 or early 2008. This event however was useful in that I saw the level of commitment those in the field currently have and the level of interest other students have.

I plan on joining financial planning associations as a student member and attending as many events as possible. Although I'm not making any money at this yet, and indeed the education is costing me money, I plan on approaching this as a second job. My father worked two full time jobs for 30 years so I should be able to do it for a year or two.

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