Sending a LinkedIn request is easy. Starting a conversation with a personal anecdote is a little more intimidating, but it’s what tech professionals should do if they’re serious about growing their network.
Attending networking events around a shared interest generates instant conversation starters. T Sripunvoraskul, a product designer at Rally Health, belongs to at least eight D&I groups. Sripunvoraskul said these organizations affirm community support and create a sense of safety and belonging for marginalized groups.
“In these groups, we get to be our authentic selves,” Sripunvoraskul said.
For employees looking to join organizations surrounding gender, sexual orientation or race, turning to networking platforms like LinkedIn and Meetup are a good place to start.
When networking, Sripunvoraskul said sharing your successes, struggles and career goals invites others to do the same. This vulnerability can be easier to tap into when attending an event dedicated to a shared interest, which means there’s a built-in icebreaker. When the event ends, reaching out to attendees over LinkedIn or email can spark authentic connections that can create value personally and professionally.
What are some networking groups, events or organizations you’ve participated in that have helped you build a meaningful professional network?
My favorite groups include Lesbians Who Tech, Creative Mornings, Write/Speak/Code and QTPOC Mentorship Night. I also enjoy Women 2.0, Out in Tech, Designers Guild, and Cascade UX. For events, I like Slack’s “Several People are Thriving” series and Queerish events.
The groups I’m part of feel different from general ones because there are similar goals, affirming community support and generating a sense of safety and belonging. In these groups, we get to be our authentic selves.
Lesbians Who Tech has helped me in my career and personal life tremendously, as I found my first job in the Bay Area and have made many lifelong friendships. My most recent job at Rally Health came through LinkedIn because my hiring manager and I had the same connections from the same group, which shows the power of groups in networking.
In these groups, we get to be our authentic selves.”
What other strategies do you have for connecting with professionals who understand or share your experiences?
Forming small peer support groups like a mastermind group or having one-on-ones every month for check-ins. My friends and I created our own Meetups in San Francisco for queer and trans people of color who are designers or in tech called QTPOC in Tech Mentorship Night.
Other ways to connect is by meeting people if they’re attending the same event, asking your network if there’s anyone you should be connecting with, joining Facebook groups or using career coaches or mentorship programs. Use as many resources as you have access to and ask others what groups they’re a part of.
For reaching out to people one-on-one, have clarity and transparency of what you need and what you can offer and build rapport to get to know them from the start.
How do you establish meaningful, long-term relationships with people once you’ve connected with them?
Being open to sharing successes, struggles, aspirations or goals. I view everyone as part of my community so my relationships are all good people I’ve stayed in touch with or can reconnect with easily because we all care about each other’s well being and want to learn from each other.
At the Lesbians Who Tech conference last year, I didn’t get to meet any designers in-person, so I went through the event app, found two designers I wanted to meet based on their backgrounds and reached out to them. We met up in person and immediately had a blast talking and realized how many similarities we had. Every few months, we would meet for coffee and talk about our lives, personal development and careers. They both still continue to be very good friends and now we host events together.
