Networking like a boss

Mike Ryder is a PhD student at Lancaster University. His research interests include biopolitics, sovereignty, science fiction and war. He is particularly interested in the intersection between literature and philosophy, and the works of Giorgio Agamben, Gilles Deleuze and Michel Foucault. In today's post, Mike talks about the importance of networking in the academic environment. Go and have a look at his (fab) personal website: www.mjryder.net and check out his Facebook page: www.facebook.com/MJRyder.net

One of the great joys of networking is that you never know who you might meet, or where a conversation might take you. In November I attended the second day of a drones conference that my supervisor had organised at the Storey in Lancaster. There I chatted to a fair few people about all manner of subjects, not really thinking about the networking opportunities on offer. A few days later I received an email from one Josh Hughes, a law PhD interested in autonomous weapon systems. I hadn’t given him my contact details, and yet he had looked me up after the conference and thought he’d get in touch. A few meetings later and we’re now collaborating on a reading group project funded by the AHRC.

I hadn’t set out to start a reading group – I hadn’t even prepared myself fully for the consequences of going to a conference, but here I am a few months later with some excellent new contacts (and dare I say friends), having greatly expanded my academic network – all without even trying. To think what I might have achieved if I had gone into the conference planning to expand my network...

Let's talk business cards 

From my experience, if you want to network effectively, business cards really are a good investment. Most universities offer an in-house business card printing facility, but you can also source your own (cheaper) versions from an external provider.

The issue I found with my own case (Lancaster) was that the business cards offered internally were quite limited in their customisation. I wanted to include my own website, and I didn’t particularly want to share my Twitter handle (I don’t use it for academic purposes), nor my address. What I did want to include however was my academic interests – something most people leave off their own cards.

We’ve all been there: you get home from a conference with a handful of business cards from people you’ve spoken to and can’t for the life of you remember what you were talking about or why you took the card in the first place. Why not then make networking easier and add a few select interests to your cards to help you stand out? It will certainly help people associate you with your chosen subject area. 

The blog circuit 

Another useful way to network is to follow their blog, maybe even comment on it. I follow a range of blogs, and although I don’t get time to read them all it can be useful to set some time aside each week to read blogs and engage with them if you can, as you never know where it may lead. You can certainly pick up useful information, and it may give you a line into a conversation with someone at a later date. You may even find you can write a ‘guest blog’ or contribute in some other way. While blogs may be a relatively new innovation (in academic terms...), they are crucial I feel for young academics trying to make a mark in their chosen field. Engagement and impact are two major ‘buzzwords’ in academia today, and blogging is the ideal means through which to engage with a wider community and spread the word about your own particular research.

Considered a website?

Of course while it’s all well and good writing for other people’s blogs, you could consider setting up your own – though this does come with its own challenges.

For my own networking purposes, I actually set up my own website www.mjryder.net back in 2007 when I was an undergraduate studying English and Creative Writing. At the time I wanted to raise my profile and stand out from other students. Not only did I learn a number of really useful skills, but it also helped me find work! 

Now I’m an academic I am less concerned with showcasing my writing and web-based work, and am now turning my attention to more academic disciplines. However the basic principles are still the same. But a word of caution: running a website is not easy. Remember that your website doesn’t exist in isolation. Just because it exists, doesn’t mean people will find it. A website is only ever a means to an end, and not an end in itself, just like any other networking tool. 

Share your thoughts

What are your thoughts on networking? Have you learnt any useful tips? If so, please do share your experiences below.