Networking is at the top of the importance lists in the financial industry. At times, who you know may become just as important as what you know. Relationships built with your peer-to-peer counterparts, mentors, and leaders can unlock doorways, offer valuable insights, and create opportunities to help drive further acceleration of your career growth. In this article, we explore why networking matters in finance and provide actionable steps to start building your own network.
Why Networking Matters in Finance?
For those who wish to boost their careers in the financial sector, networking isn't just appealing to have but necessary. A good network can assist you in your career through various avenues such as:
- Access to Opportunities: Many jobs, especially the higher-end ones, come through referrals and recommendations. According to LinkedIn, 85% of all employment is comprised through networking.
- Industry Insights: Networking acquaints one with people holding distinct views and experiences. The talks provide crucial industry insights, mainly for the finance freshmen or for individuals who are looking to venture into some other field from this spectrum.
- Mentorship and Guidance: With knowledgeable professionals mentoring, they can walk you through the labyrinth that is the world of finance. Studies reveal that mentored professionals are five times more likely to get promoted than those without mentors.
- Client Relationships: Trust and relationships matter in finance. It expands your possibilities of acquiring new clients and maintaining existing relationships.
Key Contacts of Your Network
One should connect to the right people to ensure that all the benefits of networking are captured. The following are some key groups to consider:
- Peers: Peer-to-peer networking promotes interaction in the work environment with others who work in the same field or department. Networking promotes sharing knowledge and the formulation of ways to solve problems collaboratively. Most peers will have easy access to you, making it easier for them to extend insights to you about your direct work environment.
- Industry Leaders: Networking with industry veterans and trend-setters could be a way of getting an overview of where the industry is going. These leaders provide valuable trends and understanding these trends could also inform career decisions.
- Clients and Prospective Clients: For those in client-facing roles, connecting with clients is something natural. Connecting with the clients helps a person develop good relationships and thus be in a position to offer satisfied services to the clients, which improves the willingness of the clients to offer more money for the business.
- Mentors: A good mentor will provide you with long-term mentoring and also refer you to other great contacts. According to studies, 67% of conversations in networking are initiated by mentors for their mentees; that's how much power it is to have somebody rooting for you.
Practical Approaches to Building a Strong Finance Network
Networking will not happen overnight. For you to build real connections in the finance industry, here are some strategies that would work:
- Industry Event and Conference Attends: Finance-linked events and conferences might serve as great avenues to connect like-minded professionals. Events and conferences are structured environments with enormous networking value. One industry conference is enough to obtain an average of 12 new connections according to the 2019 Eventbrite report.
- Use Social Media and Professional Networking Sites: LinkedIn and Twitter are great ways to connect to professionals if you won't be able to connect with them personally. LinkedIn is a great place to work on curating your network of industry contacts. According to LinkedIn, users who log in more frequently are 40% more likely to discover job opportunities through their connections.
Join relevant LinkedIn groups, comment or share interesting insights in response to posts and connect with potential contacts through a personalized message.
- Join Professional Organizations and Associations: Membership organizations such as the CFA Institute, Financial Planning Association (FPA), or Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Society give you membership that enhances your credentials while availing of networking events and resources.
Go for the meetings, volunteer to sit on committees or participate in the webinars these organizations provide. Volunteering makes you very visible to key influencers within that organization.
- Join Mentorship Programs: Many finance companies have structured mentorship programs for their employees. A mentorship program provides an organized framework through which the employees can build friendships and learn from other people with expertise in the field. According to CNBC, 70% of Fortune 500 companies have a mentorship program. The employees with mentors are five times more likely to be promoted than their colleagues with no mentors. How to go about is to first request for a mentor in your organization. If there is no formal program in your organization, consider having an external mentor from professional organizations.
Building and Creating Meaningful Contacts and Relationships
After connecting, one must build not merely collect contacts. Here's how:
- Stay in Touch Regularly: Networking is not at the first get-together only. The way to keep contact alive is perpetual follow-ups.
- Send a follow-up email or message after your first meeting showing gratitude for the person's time. You should then maintain periodic contact with them to share relevant updates or ask about their projects.
- Additional Value in the Relationship: Ask less, provide value instead. Share articles or news updates. Introduce them to others; you wouldn't know whom it can benefit. Serve help when you're good at something. For example, you encounter an article about a topic in their industry. You share it along with a note explaining why you thought of him/her. Sometimes small gestures can solidify the relationship in the workplace.
- Give Value Their Time: Respect their time bounds in the fast-paced industry of finance. Be crystal clear with your message, whether by email or in a face-to-face meeting. Be fully prepared with questions and requests before you send a message to a contact. Do not schedule long meetings unless absolutely necessary.
Maximizing Networking Events
At times, networking can be overwhelming due to the large number of people to interact with; however, one can indeed be strategic about this:
- Set Specific Goals Beforehand: Whom do you want to meet? What are you looking to achieve? Purpose gives you direction.
- Prepare an Elevator Pitch: Be ready with a short, powerful introductory speech about yourself and what you do.
- Open Up to Other Interests: Attend events geared towards people outside of your immediate interest. Sometimes the best contacts come from elsewhere. Networking is much more than a career advancement. It is about learning from other people and gaining new insights. By always nurturing relationships, you gain a supportive network that will help you achieve your goals in finance.
Future of Networking Viewpoint
Networking in the financial industry has proved to be the best way to grow professionally, learn from the industry, and advance your career. Building relationships with peers, mentors, clients, and industry leaders opens doors for new opportunities and insights that help shape your career. Networking requires sincerity, consistency in follow-up procedures, and an understanding that the best relationships are built over time. With persistence and effort, your network can become one of your most powerful career assets.
