Most professionals recognize the importance of networking for their careers. While attending conferences or scheduling meetups are great ways to connect with others, an often overlooked (or avoided) approach is organizing a larger gathering yourself.
How to Plan Your Own Networking Event (and Invite the Right People)
While attending conferences or scheduling meetups are great ways to network and connect with others, an often overlooked (or avoided) approach is organizing a larger gathering yourself. Hosting your own events enables you to build relationships more strategically than a conference or mixer typically allows, because you’re controlling the guest list, and as the convener, you get ‘credit’ for the connections your guests make with one another. It’s also an excellent way for introverts to level the playing field, ensuring our gathering takes place in the kind of calm, quiet environment where we do best. And it may be easier than you think. The first question to ask is who to invite. Instead, if you’re interested in organizing your own networking gathering, here are five strategies you can use to curate your attendees and bring a fascinating mix of people together: 1) Think strategically about the size of your gathering; 2) Decide if your event will have a theme; 3) Think carefully about the mix; 4) Consider recruiting a co-host; 5) Leverage existing contacts to build your guest list.