By C. Jewel Garcia
If you are anything like me networking can be hard, however it is definitely essential in the film business where the old saying, “It is not what you know it’s who you know” is true as ever. You may believe that some people are good at networking and others are bad and that is nearly impossible to change. Nevertheless, according to 5 Misconceptions About Networking by Herminia Ibarra this this is only an old myth and “if you believe that networking is a skill you can develop you are more likely to be motivated to improve it, work at it harder at it, and get better returns for your networking than someone with a fixed mindset.” With that in mind here are some steps you can take to help you be able to network with comfortability and confidence.
Prepare before you go to events or reach out to network. Take a deep breath. Have business cards. Have a personal elevator pitch to introduce yourself. Have an elevator pitch of your new project. This basic preparedness will help give you confidence when you are talking to others because it will eliminate awkward pauses and weird phrasing. It will also help ensure you have everything you need to make a good impression that last. A lot of nervousness around networking comes from the fear that you will leave a bad impression eliminating as many possibilities as possible of making a bad impression will illuminate a lot of the fear.
According to Learn to Love Networking by Francesca Gino, Maryam Kouchaki, and Tiziana Casciaro, networking can make people feel dirty. However, this is all about the way networking is perceived.
If you think about networking as a means of getting things than it will make you feel dirty. Networking is about more than just getting what you want. Networking is about building connections that are mutually beneficial or are beneficial to a bigger purpose. Networking takes much longer than the initial meeting. It is the whole prosses of forging and keeping connections. If you start thinking of networking events as the potential for the beginnings of relationships this often helps.
When approaching people, you do not know there are two helpful tips. The first is to mirror their behavior. If they are happy act happy around them, if they are sad or disengaged try on a similar mood. This may make you feel inauthentic at first, but it will open up space for an honest conversation.
The second tip is look for commonalities. Again, according to Learn to Love Networking this will help you feel more connected to the person and make the conversation seem less stressed and inauthentic. It will also help you have something for future conversations and help you forge a stronger connection. This similarity does not have to be something big. It could be something like a hobby.
According to Creating and Nurturing your Social Networkby Conor Neill and Fabrizio Ferraro networking is not about quick pay offs. Networking is about making and gaining relationships. These relationships are mutually beneficial. In them sometimes you give favors sometimes you get favors. If you need someone to do something right away for you then you never need to see them again, then you are not networking you are selling something.
A key part of this sort of networking is that it will somewhat naturally start growing through introductions if you do your part correctly. Your part is to be reliable and not overly needy. It is to do your job fabulously when hired and to make a good reputation for yourself. All the type of things that sound easy but take way more work than just showing up and meeting people.
Networking is about keeping connections that are strong ties and week ties. Again, according to 5 Misconceptions About Networking people often overlook the importance of week ties, yet they can be critical in many situations including getting a job or getting your work to be seen.
Do not just let connections happen on their own. According to Start Networking Right Away (Even If You Hate It) by William C. Byham, “Ask yourself, Who can help me? Who knows what’s going on? Who gets around roadblocks? Who are the critical links in the supply or information chain?” From approaching networking in this way, you can find people who will be truly useful connections you may otherwise never connect with.
According to Creating and Nurturing your Social Network strategic connections are more than just people who can help you with the current task at hand or mentorship in general instead they are people who can help you, “[f]igger out future priorities and challenges” and help you gain support. These strategic connections are critical for film makers because they are often the people who can get projects off the ground, but these connections do not usually happen on their own. That is why it is important to deliberately look for these connections.
In the end networking is critical in any industry, but especially in the film industry. The key steps to networking in the film industry is 1 prepare, 2 do not feel guilty about it, 3 try to use similarity when approaching others to forge connection, 4 do not look for quick pay offs look for long term mutual connections, and 5 make strategic connections not just lazy connections. These steps will help make networking less scarry and more beneficial to you.
Byham, W. (2009). Start networking right away (even if you hate it). Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2009/01/start-networking-right-away-even-if-you-hate-it#:~:text=Even%20if%20you%20have%20an%20aversion%20to%20networking%E2%80%94as,a%20loser%20who%20should%20never%20have%20been%20hired.
Casciaro, T. & et al. (2016). Learn to love networking. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2016/05/learn-to-love-networking
Ferraro, F. & Neill, C. (2010). Creating and nurturing your social network. IESE Business School University of Navarra. https://hbsp.harvard.edu/product/IES460-PDF-ENG
Ibarra, H. (2016). 5 misconceptions about networking. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2016/04/5-misconceptions-about-networking