More networking advice

Lifehacker posts about two articles on networking for those that hate it (I definitely count myself in this category - see my previous post). When I started out in an academic career, I never realised how much networking would be involved - perhaps the stereotype of the isolated, introverted scientist was at the back of my mind.

In retrospect it’s obvious why researchers need to network - most projects involve collaboration. I think this is likely to be true of most fields - it’s certainly true of mine. Interesting and worthwhile projects are likely to require people with different skills, which often means people from different fields. The nature of academic research is such that you’re always in the process of planning your next project, and someone else’s input could be the factor that makes it happen.

I’m not going to say much about the articles themselves (one at yahoo finance, one at businesspundit), save to say that different things work for different people - if any particular piece of advice strikes a chord with you, then go with it. For me, the most important things to realise have been that

• academic types are usually friendly and
• they love to talk about their work

both of which make networking much easier.