In this post, guest blogger Dr Biljana Stojkovska shares her experience of making a career shift.
When I decided to change jobs, the move was both exciting and scary. The job change was full of new things: a totally new sector, a new company where I didn’t know anyone, new tasks, new team, new culture and new location. A lot of unknowns! There are always so many things that you need to do when you are a new starter but I was determined to establish myself well early on.
Build your network
My advice? Build your internal network. It may seem daunting, but trust me, investing time in building your internal network will pay dividends. This approach had worked well for me in previous roles.
Get to know your team.
Networking with team members should definitely happen within first week of you starting the job and means setting up one- to- one sessions to get to know one other. I focussed discussions on learning what people I would be working directly with were doing, how I could help, etc. This kick starts the relationship. You’ll continue to engage as part of regular individual and team meetings.
Get to know your senior leaders
Don’t restrict your networking to your direct line manager, also meet with more senior managers within your department. Ask for catch-ups with them every few months. This keeps you on their radar and is a way of building your support network. If a senior manager sees your interest, that can lead to an open door should you need help and support. Talk about your skills and what you can bring to the team. Don’t assume people have a clear picture of your capabilities unless you tell them.
Expand your network
Finally, reach out to other departments. Being new in the business I had knowledge and skills that were new to them. I set up calls with people from other departments that I thought would be interested in what I could offer. Equally I was interested in hearing their perspective. Don’t wait for people to introduce you to somebody or to mention your name. Nowadays, the easiest way is to send an MS Teams message, 2-3 sentences saying “hello, I am new in the company, I am doing this and this, would you like a short intro?“
Set networking goals
I set myself a goal to make 3 new internal contacts per week. It was important to me as part of my reflection on the week’s task, so I could see who I talked with and what I leaned.
Whenever I’m in the office, I always seek to have a chat or lunch with people from other teams. In that way I continue to do internal networking face to face, which usually bring different perspectives into the discussion.
People are usually generous and are happy to meet with you. That’s true 95% of the time. A few won’t engage with you, but don’t worry; that says more about them than you. Building an internal network is hard work and requires determination and drive. Nobody will do it for you. Nobody will judge if you don’t do it either. So, it is a self-driven activity which requires determination and persistence.
Take your networking up a notch
An important part of networking for me is approaching senior leaders which can be a bit scary. I encourage myself by saying that they can say “no”; and that it’s not going to be the end of the world if they do. I reached out to quite a few and most of them gave me 30- 45 min of their time. They usually can’t meet immediately as they have a busy diary so meeting with them may take a while, but it is worth the effort. For every first encounter, invest time in preparing and always have some questions to ask. You never know when the conversation might open you a door in the future.
Reap the rewards
In my case I got a call from a senior leader asking me if I would be interested in joining her new department. I hadn’t met her but she told me another manager had told her about me and that my skills and expertise were those she needed. There is always an element of luck of being in the right place at the right time but in that moment I knew that my internal networking and hard work had paid off.
Dr Biljana Stojkovska works in the UK energy sector
