Growing your professional network

What networking is and is not: mapping your contacts, talking at events, follow-up messages, informational interviews, keeping in touch and practice.

Finding a job, changing careers or growing in your field does not depend on knowledge and a diploma alone. Many opportunities come through people: someone mentions a vacancy, someone recommends a useful course, someone introduces you to the right specialist. In this guide we look at how to grow your professional network honestly and systematically: what networking is and what it is not, how to map the contacts you already have, where to meet new people, how to talk at an event, what to write afterwards, how to ask a specialist for advice, how to keep relationships going for years, and some advice for introverts. At the end you will find a hypothetical example, common mistakes, a practical exercise and a checklist.

What networking is and what it is not

Networking means building and maintaining mutually useful professional relationships. The word gives many people the wrong idea, so let us draw a clear line first.

Networking is not:

using connections to jump the queue, bypass an exam or a competition, or ask for unlawful favours;
asking everyone you meet for a job straight away;
collecting business cards and never writing to anyone;
remembering people only when you need them and disappearing once the matter is settled.

Networking is:

getting to know people in your field, learning from them and being useful to them;
sharing experience, information and advice;
earning trust, so that people know you as honest, reliable and good at your work;
building relationships for the long term, not for today but for years to come.

The key principle is honesty. A good contact can show you the door, but you walk through it on the strength of your own knowledge and results. When someone recommends you, they put their own reputation on the line, so it is your duty to justify that trust.

Mapping the network you already have

Many people think, “I don’t know anyone.” In fact each of us already has a large circle; we have simply never looked at it from a professional point of view.

Take a sheet of paper or open a spreadsheet and write down these groups:

School classmates. The people you finished school with now work in all sorts of fields: one in a bank, another at an IT company, another running their own business.
Fellow students. Your groupmates from college or university, especially those who studied the same subject as you.
Former colleagues. Colleagues and managers from previous jobs, and even people you met during a short placement.
Teachers and mentors. School teachers, course tutors, academic supervisors: they are often pleased by their former students’ success and happy to help.
Your mahalla and relatives. Among your neighbours and relatives there may be people working in the field you are interested in.
People from courses and clubs. Contacts from language courses, sports clubs and volunteer projects.

For each person, add columns: name, field, where they work, when you last spoke, and what you could be useful to them with. Once the table is ready, you will see that you already know a few people close to your interests. They are the easiest place to start: they know you, and the conversation will come naturally.

One important point: this list is not a tool for “using” people. It is a simple reminder of who you have not written to in a while and whose congratulations you have forgotten.

Where to meet new people

Beyond your existing circle, you also need to meet new people. The places below are common in Uzbekistan too.

In-person events

Industry events and conferences. Gatherings for accountants, programmers, marketers and teachers are held in Tashkent and regional centres. Some of them are free to attend; registering in advance is enough.
Meetups. Small, informal get-togethers: one or two talks followed by open conversation. They are most common in IT and the creative industries and are the friendliest setting for newcomers.
Public lectures and exhibitions. Universities, libraries and technology parks run open events.

Online communities

Telegram groups. Many professional communities live on Telegram: accountants’ groups, developer chats, channels for HR specialists. Read the group rules first, observe for a while, then join in with a useful question or answer.
LinkedIn. The most important platform for working with international and large companies. Your profile must be in good order; we cover this in detail in Completing your LinkedIn profile.
Online course forums. The people studying alongside you in a course chat may later become your colleagues.

Meeting people through activities

Volunteering. People get to know each other best when they work on something together. Volunteering experience brings both skills and contacts.
Courses. Your teacher and groupmates form a ready-made professional circle.

We have written about engaging actively with groupmates and teachers during a course in Getting the most out of an online course.

Talking at events: introductions, conversation and listening

Turning up to an event is half the job. The other half is being able to talk to people.

Introducing yourself

Prepare a short introduction of two or three sentences in advance: who you are, what you do and what interests you. For example:

“Hello, I’m Madina. I work as an accountant at a small trading company, and at the moment I’m going deeper into 1C and tax reporting. What’s your experience in this area?”

End your introduction with a question so that the conversation is not only about you.

Conversation starters

“Which part of today’s talk did you enjoy most?”
“Is this your first time at this event?”
“What area do you work in?”
“Have you tried the approach the speaker described in your own work?”

Listening

A good conversation partner is not the person who talks most but the one who listens well. Do not look at your phone, remember the other person’s name and use it once during the conversation, and ask clarifying questions. These skills rest on the same foundations as communication at work and are an important part of soft skills.

Ending a conversation politely

You do not have to stay with one person for the whole event. You can wrap up a conversation like this:

“It’s been a real pleasure talking to you. Shall we connect on LinkedIn?”
“I was hoping to meet a few more people. Would it be all right if I wrote to you later?”
“Thank you, your advice has been really helpful. May I take your contact details?”

After each conversation, make a quick note on your phone: the name, where they work and what you talked about. The next day, that note will be very useful.

Getting in touch after the event (follow-up)

The most important part of meeting someone is the message you send after the event. Many people skip this step, and the acquaintance ends there. Send a short message within a day or two. You can read more about the rules of written communication in our article on email etiquette.

Sample message to a local contact

Hello Jahongir,
Yesterday at the accountants’ meetup we talked about warehouse accounting in 1C. Today I tried the report setting you suggested at work, and it really does save time. Thank you.
If you are going to the next meetup, I would be glad to see you again.
Best regards, Madina

Sample message to an international contact

If you have met someone from an international company or a specialist from abroad:

Dear Ms Smith,
Thank you for your talk on financial reporting at yesterday’s conference. I especially appreciated your point about preparing monthly reports in advance.
I would be glad to stay in touch and follow your work.
Kind regards,
Madina Yusupova

LinkedIn connection request

After clicking “Connect” on LinkedIn, choose “Add a note” and write a short message. Requests without a note are often ignored.

Hi Dilshod, yesterday at the IT meetup you answered my question about test automation. I’d like to connect so I can follow your work and experience.

Mention a specific situation in your message: where you met and what you talked about. That is how the other person can tell it is a personal message rather than a template.

The informational interview

An informational interview is not a request for a job; it is a request for 15–20 minutes of a specialist’s time to learn about their profession. It is especially useful if you want to change careers: you find out what the field looks like from the inside.

How to ask

Write a short message through a mutual contact or on LinkedIn.
State your purpose clearly: “I’m not asking for a job; I’d like some advice about your field.”
Limit the time: “15–20 minutes at a time that suits you, online or over a cup of tea.”
Accept a “no” calmly.

List of questions

What does a typical working day look like for you?
How did you get into this field?
Which skills do you need most in your work?
What mistakes do newcomers make?
Which courses, books or communities would you recommend?
What would you advise someone in my situation to do as a first step?
Who else would it be useful for me to talk to?

At the end of the conversation, say thank you and send a short thank-you message the same day. A few weeks later, write to say how you have used the advice; this strengthens the relationship.

Giving first and keeping in touch

Be useful first

The most reliable rule of networking is to give first and ask later. Do not assume you have “nothing to offer”. You can:

tell people about a useful article, course or event;
leave a thoughtful comment on someone’s post;
introduce two of your contacts to each other if they could be useful to one another;
help with something you know well: fixing an Excel spreadsheet, translating a text, reviewing a presentation.

Keeping in touch

An acquaintance should not be a one-off. A few simple habits:

Write from time to time. Every few months, a short message: “How are you? How’s your project going?”
Send congratulations. A new position, a holiday, a professional day: even a short message is remembered.
Share useful links. “You were interested in this topic; here’s a good article.”
Share your own news. Finished a course or moved to a new job? Let the person who advised you know.

A long-standing relationship is also the basis for asking for a reference letter in the future: someone who knows you well will write one with confidence. To show your contacts the results of your work, our article on creating a portfolio will also be helpful.

Advice for introverts and respecting boundaries

For introverts

Being an introvert does not stand in the way of good networking. Introverts often listen more closely and build more meaningful relationships. A few tips:

Set a small goal. Not “I’ll meet everyone”, but “I’ll talk to two people at the event”.
Arrive early. It is easier to start a conversation while the room is still empty.
Choose a small format. A meetup of 15–20 people instead of a large conference.
Start online. A useful answer in a Telegram group or a comment on LinkedIn also counts as making contact.
Volunteer. If you register guests or help the organisers at an event, you have a natural reason to start a conversation.
Make time to recharge. Needing to recover after an event is perfectly normal.

Respecting boundaries

Don’t pester people. If there is no reply, one reminder after a week is enough. After that, stop.
Respect a “no”. “I don’t have time right now” is not a personal insult.
Don’t call outside working hours. For first contact, a written message is better.
Don’t ask for personal information. A home address or marital status is not a topic for a professional conversation.
Don’t pass on someone’s contact details without permission. Before introducing people, get consent from both sides.

A hypothetical example, common mistakes and practice

Madina’s experience

The example below is hypothetical; the names and numbers are made up. Madina is a young accountant at a small trading company in Tashkent. She wanted to learn from experienced tax reporting specialists but hardly knew anyone in the profession.

Week 1. She mapped her existing circle and remembered that two of her groupmates work as accountants and that her college teacher is still connected to the profession. She wrote to them.
Weeks 2–3. She updated her LinkedIn profile and joined two Telegram groups for accountants. At first she observed, then answered a few questions.
Week 4. She went to a free meetup for accountants. She prepared her introduction in advance and talked to three people. The next day she wrote to each of them.
Weeks 5–6. She asked an experienced chief accountant for a 20-minute informational interview. The chief accountant recommended a course and introduced Madina to another colleague.
Weeks 7–8. She shared an Excel technique she knew well in the Telegram group. Several people thanked her and got in touch.

By the end of two months, Madina had ten new professional contacts on her list. The key point is that she did not ask anyone for a job, but now she knows whom to turn to when a question comes up.

Common mistakes

Only asking. Opening an acquaintance with a request straight away.
Forgetting to follow up. Not writing after an event means the acquaintance ends there.
Template messages. Sending the same text to dozens of people.
Only meeting senior people. Your peers will one day become experienced specialists too.
Only remembering people when you need them. Staying silent for years, then suddenly writing with a request.
Not keeping promises. If you said “I’ll send you the article”, send it.

Practical exercise

Write your existing circle down in a table: at least 20 people.
Choose three of them who are close to your interests and write each one a personal message.
Write your two- or three-sentence introduction and practise saying it out loud.
Join one Telegram group or community related to your field.
Find one event for next month and put it in your calendar.
Prepare a list of questions for one informational interview.

Checklist

I understand networking as honest relationships, not as a route to favours.
My existing circle is in a table, with the date of last contact.
My introduction is ready and ends with a question.
After every event I write within one or two days.
I add a personal note to LinkedIn requests.
I try to be useful first.
If there is no reply, I stop after one reminder.

A professional network is not built in a day but in small steps. One message or one new conversation a week, and in a year you will have a reliable and useful circle around you.

If you would like to learn a new profession while growing your professional circle through groupmates and teachers, take a look at our association’s free training programmes. When you are ready, submit an application and our specialists will get in touch.