How to Network Sans Jerk

The 2K11 24/7 CCXLII

Last updated on April 5th, 2021 at 01:16 am

Last night I found myself visiting #devTO—an event described as follows:

You love it, hate it, debug it, dream about it, obsess over it, test it, throw it away… because you don’t just write code.

#devTO, a place for all developers, regardless of age, experience or sex to gather and collaborate on the problems we face as developers. These problems are as broad as our job descriptions, can’t figure out how to get that interface to look good in Chrome and Safari? Not sure how to deploy code to multiple servers with no downtime? What is the best way to integrate social media into your projects? I’m sure at some point you’ve all run into something like one of the problems above, so why not share it and benefit from the experience of others.

Though I’m not really a developer, I was going to check it out due to my sheer interest in the world of development. But before I knew it, a text message from my buddy Kevin soon found me taking photographs for the event (which in turn prompted my urges to get my new camera once more, but we’ll save that for another post). Of course, I can’t really prove I was there through the photos (think about it), but you can catch a glimpse of what went down here:

But one thing I definitely saw a lot of going on before and after the speakers took the floor at the event was networking. A number of developers, and people seeking the assistance of developers, getting out there and talking about what they do, what they’d LIKE to do, and making the connections necessary to enable those ideas.

Some people are GREAT networkers—others not so much. While it’s partly based on personality, here are 7 tips on how you can network without seeming smarmy (I’m pretty sure this list originally came from an executive-audience magazine—if anyone knows which, drop me a line)!

  1. Be genuine!
  2. Care about how you can help others
  3. Listen!
  4. Treat people like they’re good (while all the while referring to #1)
  5. Be early
  6. Be in the mix
  7. Ask interesting questions! (small talk yields short conversation)

While many might point to these and think it’s all common sense, I repeatedly see people mess up potential connections because they’re forgetting some of these rules. They also apply to dating, strengthening your existing relationships and being a better person overall!

So learn the seven rules and make those encounters a little less awkward for all of us.

The second logo for Casey Palmer, Canadian Dad

242/365

By Casey E. Palmer

Husband. Father. Storyteller.

Calling the Great White North his home, Casey Palmer the Canadian Dad spend his free time in pursuit of the greatest content possible.

Thousand-word blog posts? Snapshots from life? Sketches and podcasts and more—he's more than just a dad blogger; he's working to change what's expected of the parenting creators of the world.

It's about so much more than just our kids.

When Casey's not creating, he's busy parenting, adventuring, trying to be a good husband and making the most of his life!

Casey lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

%d bloggers like this: