As an implementation strategist at Greenhouse, Meghan Lewis manages data migration, product training and organizational rollout strategies. Outside of work, she hones her technology and leadership skills at General Assembly and meets like-minded professionals and athletes through the Women’s National Football Conference, a sports organization that seeks to advance professional women’s football. After each General Assembly class, Lewis challenges herself to virtually connect with at least two fellow students on LinkedIn so she’s able to reach out down the line.
Her thinking? That she might be able to serve as a sounding board or professional resource at some point in their career and vice versa. It’s an exchange that she’s benefited from previously within a Facebook group made up of former managers and colleagues.
“By reframing my mindset around the term ‘networking,’ I’m less intimidated by who I’m speaking to and what the conversation is going to be about,” Lewis said.
What are some networking groups, events or organizations you’ve participated in that have helped you build a meaningful professional network?
I personally have developed a great networking community by attending General Assembly courses and being a member of the Women’s National Football Conference. The courses at General Assembly allow me to network with other members of the Denver tech industry who are looking to grow similar skill sets. As a general rule of thumb, I try to add at least two people from the class on LinkedIn before I leave.
The WNFC has allowed me to meet women outside of the industry as we align and work to combat the struggles women face in the professional and athletic world. This organization embodies a diverse pool of individuals. I’m grateful to be able to soak in perspectives I wouldn’t easily find otherwise in my day to day.
I’m a firm believer in the sentiment that a stranger is just another friend you have yet to meet.’’
What other strategies do you have for connecting with professionals who understand or share your experiences?
I’m a firm believer in the sentiment that a stranger is just another friend you have yet to meet. By reframing my mindset around the term “networking,” I’m less intimidated by who I’m speaking to and what the conversation is going to be about.
If you approach people with a genuine curiosity toward getting to know them and their experiences, it opens the door to meet and retain professional acquaintances. In fact, think of the last time you met someone new and chatted for at least 10 or 15 minutes. Most likely what they did for work naturally came up without either of you even noticing. For this reason, we’re networking much more often than we actually think.
How do you establish meaningful, long-term relationships with people once you’ve connected with them?
Social media is a great way to keep in touch with people you consider to be a part of your professional network. LinkedIn is an obvious channel, but if you’ve established what you consider to be a personal bond with the individual, I would encourage you to add them on more interpersonal networks, such as Instagram and Facebook.
These avenues are great ways to stay up to date on activities, life milestones and career advances. While it’s unrealistic to think you’ll speak to these people every day, these platforms could create an easy channel for you to request coffee dates or virtual chats when life becomes busy.
For example, I’m part of a Facebook group full of my former colleagues and managers. We use this group to chat about current industry trends in the sales and tech market since we all share that same commonality. We also share local networking events and skills workshops that we believe members could benefit from.
