Making Connections On Line (cont.)
Getting started
Physicians interested in checking out
on-line networking opportunities will be pleased to see that
the Web sites are fairly easy to use. They’re also
currently free. All offer a basic level of access at no charge;
Ryze also offers the option of more advanced search
capabilities for $9.95 per month.
To get started, potential
members set up an account at one of the sites, which involves
typing in personal information such as current job title,
employer or affiliation, location, and experience—typical
resume details—and selecting a password. Ryze uses
keywords to help users more easily identify—and be able
to search for—others with similar interests, backgrounds,
or location, for example. Participants can also typically
select the level of privacy they prefer, electing to hide their
profile or contact information from those they aren’t
connected to, or allowing anyone to get in touch. Users can
also specify the types of assistance they’d like to
receive from other members, such as help finding a job or
hiring an employee, finding contract work, finding information
about prospective employers or cities, or finding others with
similar interests. At Spoke, more than 85 percent of requests
made by network participants are for information, reports a CareerJournal.com article. At
LinkedIn, more than 50 percent of the on-line connections made
are hiring related.
To filter out unwanted
communication, some sites, such as LinkedIn, require an
introduction through another member. The upside is that
contacts forwarded are generally legitimate and more likely of
interest, though the downside is that simple requests can take
weeks or months to make their way down the chain of contacts
and back again. Perhaps to address this delay, other sites,
such as ZeroDegrees, allow direct emails between participants.
Once in the system,
participants are encouraged to invite their friends and
colleagues to join the on-line network, thereby extending the
network further. The networks are built on the premise that we
are all “six degrees of separation,” or six people,
from anyone else in the world. The more participants in any
on-line network, the closer each participant is to everyone
else. And the closer she is to someone who may be good for her
career.
Networking effectively
The best way to get started at networking
on line is to complete a personal profile at one or more of the
sites. Revealing more, rather than less, information about
yourself up front in your profile helps improve your networking
ability. Anyone who happens across your profile—perhaps
because they are looking for people with your skills, or maybe
they’re scanning fellow University of Pennsylvania
alumni—may spot something in your profile that sparks
interest in on-line contact. Having a thorough profile
encourages that contact. Even if you provide only the
basics—your current employer or school, career history,
educational background, interests, published articles, and
hobbies—you significantly increase the odds of hearing
from others looking for someone with your background.
Once your personal
profile is complete and loaded in the system, make the most of
your on-line networking opportunities by following these
general guidelines:
• When you do ask for
assistance from others, be as specific as possible. Don’t
ask for help finding a job in Dallas, but instead ask for
advice on the best way to position yourself to get the job at
Medical City Hospital in Dallas. Most people want to help you,
but the more narrow your request, the easier it is for them to
recognize they have information, or a professional contact,
that can help you.
• Show that you’ve done
some research yourself, rather than asking others to do it all
for you, especially when it comes to a job search.
Demonstrating that you’ve done some digging will earn
respect and may speed your information-gathering process.
• Pursue and post testimonials
from employers, professors, and clients. Some sites allow
others to comment on your abilities, track record, or knowledge
base, in your personal profile. You may find that such
endorsements help push your request or resume to the top.
• Link your on-line networking
activities with off-line events whenever possible, such as
those arranged through Ryze, for instance, to improve the
strength of your connections. Such cross-over can be good for
your career and your social life.
• Be willing to help others
when you see an opportunity, rather than constantly asking
others to assist you. Don’t expect to see instant results
from your networking efforts. Depending on how active you are
at networking and at building your own on-line connections, it
could take weeks, months, or even years—just as in the
off-line, face-to-face world—to see a direct benefit from
all your efforts.
 | ||
Some physicians can see the potential of
such sites to help them network, but they haven’t yet
reaped the rewards. Although she is in the midst of completing
her residency, Tia Konzer, DO, expects on-line networking sites
like ZeroDegrees to play an important role as she establishes
her own practice in a few years. A psychiatry resident at
Sparrow Hospital System at Michigan State University in East
Lansing, Michigan, Konzer happened onto the ZeroDegrees site
about four or five months ago and signed up to explore what it
had to offer.
“I thought that you
can never start too early to develop connections in your own
field and elsewhere,” says Konzer, who hopes to gain both
career contacts and friends on line. She believes that some of
the best ways to improve business, regardless of the field, is
through contacts and connections within various communities.
She hopes to be able to meet people who may be able to
use her services, and to identify people whose expertise she
will need. Her sense is that “it can
never hurt to meet new people, gain new friendships, and make
connections with people in various occupational and social
fields.” And Konzer expects that if she does start her
own practice, it will be much easier with the help of the
network she has developed.
|
Tia Konzer, DO, a psychiatry
resident at Sparrow Hospital System in East
Lansing, Michigan, expects on-line networking sites
like ZeroDegrees to play an important role as she
establishes her own practice in a few years.
“You can never start too early to develop
connections in your own field and elsewhere,”
she says.
© 2005 tom gennara
| ||
Adrian Scott, PhD, the CEO
and founder of Ryze agrees. “If you’re building
your company or your career, investing in your network will pay
off.” It may even earn you more money. “Every study
that’s been done states that your level of networking
correlates with a higher salary,” says Scott. It’s
yet another reason to start networking on line. g
Marcia Layton Turner is a free-lance
writer and author based in Penfield, New York.
1 | 2
