April 11, 2025 • 8 mins
Top Networking Tips for Career Success | How to Network in STEM, Tech, and Beyond
Want to level up your networking skills and unlock new career opportunities? In this video, I’m sharing my top networking tips for success—whether you're a student, professional, or entrepreneur looking to grow your career in tech, STEM, or business. Learn how to confidently build genuine professional connections, expand your LinkedIn network, and create meaningful relationships in your industry or niche. These proven strategies have helped me connect with mentors, land job interviews, and grow my career.
💡 What You’ll Learn:
✔️ How to network effectively at events, conferences, and online
✔️ The do’s and don’ts of professional networking
✔️ How to approach mentors, recruiters, and industry leaders
✔️ Why networking is essential for career growth in STEM and tech
If you're looking to grow your personal brand, build confidence, and take your career to the next level, this video is for you!
Follow us on Instagram: stemwithashley Follow us on Facebook: STEM With Ashley Follow us on tiktok: stemwithashley Follow us on LinkedIn: All Things STEM With Ashley
#NetworkingTips #CareerSuccess #womeninengineering #STEMCareers #Networking #ProfessionalGrowth #NetworkingForSuccess #WomenInTech #CareerDevelopment #Mentorship
Want to level up your networking skills and unlock new career opportunities? In this video, I’m sharing my top networking tips for success—whether you're a student, professional, or entrepreneur looking to grow your career in tech, STEM, or business. Learn how to confidently build genuine professional connections, expand your LinkedIn network, and create meaningful relationships in your industry or niche. These proven strategies have helped me connect with mentors, land job interviews, and grow my career.
💡 What You’ll Learn:
✔️ How to network effectively at events, conferences, and online
✔️ The do’s and don’ts of professional networking
✔️ How to approach mentors, recruiters, and industry leaders
✔️ Why networking is essential for career growth in STEM and tech
If you're looking to grow your personal brand, build confidence, and take your career to the next level, this video is for you!
Follow us on Instagram: stemwithashley Follow us on Facebook: STEM With Ashley Follow us on tiktok: stemwithashley Follow us on LinkedIn: All Things STEM With Ashley
#NetworkingTips #CareerSuccess #womeninengineering #STEMCareers #Networking #ProfessionalGrowth #NetworkingForSuccess #WomenInTech #CareerDevelopment #Mentorship
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Hi everyone, and welcome to All Things and with Ashley.
I'm your host, Ashley, and today we are going to
talk about networking. If you've been keeping along with all
the episodes posted, one tip that every guests mentioned is networking.
So today I'm just going to give some tips about
networking and things that have helped me and hopefully they
(00:33):
help you, and please make sure you comment with any
other tips that I might miss. So the first thing
about networking is to first be approachable, smile, have good energy,
you know, make eye contact. You can't go into a
room and be looking at the ground or staying in
a secluded space and expect to be able to meet people.
(00:55):
The thing about networking is wherever you are, whether it
be a meeting, a conference, a networking event. The first
part is being approachable. So that's something super important. And
no one has to be overly outgoing or anything like that,
but just be approachable as and have a welcoming type
of body language. So I'm super outgoing and I can
(01:19):
talk to a bunch of people one on one, but
when it gets in a lot of groups, I'm more quiet.
But you don't have to have an outgoing personality to network.
Just make sure you're approachable, smile, make eye contact, and
go up to that person. One thing I've noticed that
helps me one of my conferences and networking events is
to have my elevator speech. So you can create a
thirty second, forty five second, or even sixty second elevator
(01:42):
speech just telling a little bit about yourself to break
the ice, because one thing a lot of people are
usually comfortable with is speaking about themselves. So like for me,
I might start off with him, I'm Ashley, I'm a
Georgian native. I went and studied engineering at the University
of Alabama. World Time. Different things like that help people
have something in connection with you. Someone might be from Georgia,
(02:05):
someone might have stayed the same field as you. Somebody
might be have went to the same school as you.
So have your elaborator pitch ready and just start breaking
the ice with that. Some net breaking events have it
where it's a mix and mingle right from the jump,
or some places even have games. If you at a
conference and see somebody that you're like, oh, I really
(02:25):
want to speak with them and network with them from
maybe they hosted exhibit at the conference, or you just
spoke with them in passing and you want to learn
more about that person, take the steps to go after
the seminar, meeting or whatever to go meet some more
with that person and say I'd like to talk more
about such and such topic or whatever they may have
spoken on. So the first step is being approachable and
(02:46):
the second step is having an elevator pitch ready to
kind of help break the ice. One way to get
involved with networking is to attend industry events or different
events that pique your interest. But networking it can be
within work or it can be within your personal time,
and it can just deal with whatever topic you like best.
So for me, when I, as I mentioned in my
(03:06):
first video, when I first moved to Dallas, I immediately
went on event bright and searched for networking events, and
one of my favorite events was I'm New here Dallas,
and it was about all women networking to meet each
other just to navigate Dallas. And I got a great,
great connection from there and it helped me with my
other connections. But sometimes you can do something like an
(03:27):
industry mixter like it might be a National Black Society,
National Society of Black Engineers or things like that, so
you never know, just go into something that's your niche
and go from there and say, hey, I want to
meet more people in this type of industry, so let
me go meet them. And like I said before, I
have your elevator pitch and be approachable. So go to
(03:48):
different places that you actually want to meet people to
network with and just go from there. And sometimes even
if you're in school, you can network with other professors,
research professors, students from other groups and other organizations. It
helped build your network because you never know who might
have a different friend that has something similar in common
with you and that can help bridge the gap and
bridge new connections. So that's always good. One thing I
(04:12):
will say is do not fear rejection. It's okay if
someone doesn't want to speak to you because at least
you tried. It's better to know and not say I
wish I had spoke to that person before I left
the event, or I wish I had talked to them
before I left the conference. Just get out of your
comfort zone and just stay hi with a smile, and
you'd be surprised to how people respond to that. Even
(04:32):
if people are rejecting the conversation, at least you know
you put the effort in So if you're nervous about
people and not want to speak to you, just take
that shot, because ninety nine percent of the time they'll
talk to you and you'll get to engage and then
you can see from there if you want to continue
a networking type relationship. One thing about after meeting the
(04:53):
people you network with is to make sure to follow
up with them. It could be an email, it could
be on LinkedIn, it could be on different social media place.
Make sure you know you say, hey, I just wanted
to reach out Happy New Year, or hey, I just
recently went to a conference that we met at and
I thought of you, or different things like that. Build
genuine connections and really follow up and reach out, and
(05:15):
you don't have to get too personal with anything. You
can just say, hey, did you see a new article today,
or different things that may have your common interest in mind,
and just make sure you nurture that networking relationship and
you get to just start how deep you want to
nurture into the relationship. But that is a good way
to keep your network and have genuine interest in what
(05:37):
each other is doing and striving for and working towards.
So that's another tip when networking is to you know,
follow up and build genuine connections. The good thing about
networking is that you guys get to both provide value
to each other. So sometimes people have already been through
the journey that you're navigating, and you can ask them
tips for success along their journey, different resources they may
(05:59):
have used for platforms, software, whatever your interest is that
you both have. Those people can lend great things to you,
and you can also give knowledge to them that maybe
they may not have. So the good thing about networking
is you get to expand your horizons, learn new things,
meet new people, and grow together. And that's the great
thing about networking relationships. And sometimes you never know where
(06:22):
they might take you. Some people network at a conference
and they end up working together at the same company.
Sometimes teachers network with different students and they end up
getting their teacher once they retire at the company they're at.
Different things happen where you never know how that networking
can impact you in the future, maybe five or ten
years down the road. But of course genuine connection is
(06:43):
the first part. Don't just network to see what someone
can do for you. Make sure you have something to
offer in the relationship as well, whether it's a tip
to distress or Hey, when I was going through a
similar situation, this is how I went through that, and
this is the resources that helped me. Make sure you
know when you network that is a give and take.
It's not all take, And make sure that you are
(07:05):
nurturing it as you would with your regular friendships, no
matter the age difference age gap. One thing you just
want to make sure is that you are of value
in the networking relationship as well. Super important as well
is to think about the quality of the relationships versus
the quantity of networking relationships you make. So sometimes people
are like, I just need to have one hundred people
(07:28):
in my network because I want to say I network
with one hundred people. That's not always the best way.
It's okay to have a smaller group or selection of
people and just continue to nourish those because those are
people that really have genuine care for you and that
will poaranto you and give the truth and that you
can build trust with. So make sure you're building quality
relationships over quantifiable relationships, and that's super important. And make
(07:52):
sure even as seasons changed and things transition, to still
keep in touch with the people that helped you start
off originally with your networking journey or your mentorship journey.
It's super important to remember the people that were there
when we had nobody and just to make sure you
let them know I do appreciate you, and you were
there during a very pivotal time in my life, and
(08:13):
that's super important as well. So I hope you enjoyed
these tips for networking. I hope you get to use
a few. Please like, comment and subscribe, and please comment
any other tips you use when networking that maybe other
viewers can use as well. Thank you for joining All
things then with Ashley, have a great day.
Hi everyone, and welcome to All Things and with Ashley.
I'm your host, Ashley, and today we are going to
talk about networking. If you've been keeping along with all
the episodes posted, one tip that every guests mentioned is networking.
So today I'm just going to give some tips about
networking and things that have helped me and hopefully they
(00:33):
help you, and please make sure you comment with any
other tips that I might miss. So the first thing
about networking is to first be approachable, smile, have good energy,
you know, make eye contact. You can't go into a
room and be looking at the ground or staying in
a secluded space and expect to be able to meet people.
(00:55):
The thing about networking is wherever you are, whether it
be a meeting, a conference, a networking event. The first
part is being approachable. So that's something super important. And
no one has to be overly outgoing or anything like that,
but just be approachable as and have a welcoming type
of body language. So I'm super outgoing and I can
(01:19):
talk to a bunch of people one on one, but
when it gets in a lot of groups, I'm more quiet.
But you don't have to have an outgoing personality to network.
Just make sure you're approachable, smile, make eye contact, and
go up to that person. One thing I've noticed that
helps me one of my conferences and networking events is
to have my elevator speech. So you can create a
thirty second, forty five second, or even sixty second elevator
(01:42):
speech just telling a little bit about yourself to break
the ice, because one thing a lot of people are
usually comfortable with is speaking about themselves. So like for me,
I might start off with him, I'm Ashley, I'm a
Georgian native. I went and studied engineering at the University
of Alabama. World Time. Different things like that help people
have something in connection with you. Someone might be from Georgia,
(02:05):
someone might have stayed the same field as you. Somebody
might be have went to the same school as you.
So have your elaborator pitch ready and just start breaking
the ice with that. Some net breaking events have it
where it's a mix and mingle right from the jump,
or some places even have games. If you at a
conference and see somebody that you're like, oh, I really
(02:25):
want to speak with them and network with them from
maybe they hosted exhibit at the conference, or you just
spoke with them in passing and you want to learn
more about that person, take the steps to go after
the seminar, meeting or whatever to go meet some more
with that person and say I'd like to talk more
about such and such topic or whatever they may have
spoken on. So the first step is being approachable and
(02:46):
the second step is having an elevator pitch ready to
kind of help break the ice. One way to get
involved with networking is to attend industry events or different
events that pique your interest. But networking it can be
within work or it can be within your personal time,
and it can just deal with whatever topic you like best.
So for me, when I, as I mentioned in my
(03:06):
first video, when I first moved to Dallas, I immediately
went on event bright and searched for networking events, and
one of my favorite events was I'm New here Dallas,
and it was about all women networking to meet each
other just to navigate Dallas. And I got a great,
great connection from there and it helped me with my
other connections. But sometimes you can do something like an
(03:27):
industry mixter like it might be a National Black Society,
National Society of Black Engineers or things like that, so
you never know, just go into something that's your niche
and go from there and say, hey, I want to
meet more people in this type of industry, so let
me go meet them. And like I said before, I
have your elevator pitch and be approachable. So go to
(03:48):
different places that you actually want to meet people to
network with and just go from there. And sometimes even
if you're in school, you can network with other professors,
research professors, students from other groups and other organizations. It
helped build your network because you never know who might
have a different friend that has something similar in common
with you and that can help bridge the gap and
bridge new connections. So that's always good. One thing I
(04:12):
will say is do not fear rejection. It's okay if
someone doesn't want to speak to you because at least
you tried. It's better to know and not say I
wish I had spoke to that person before I left
the event, or I wish I had talked to them
before I left the conference. Just get out of your
comfort zone and just stay hi with a smile, and
you'd be surprised to how people respond to that. Even
(04:32):
if people are rejecting the conversation, at least you know
you put the effort in So if you're nervous about
people and not want to speak to you, just take
that shot, because ninety nine percent of the time they'll
talk to you and you'll get to engage and then
you can see from there if you want to continue
a networking type relationship. One thing about after meeting the
(04:53):
people you network with is to make sure to follow
up with them. It could be an email, it could
be on LinkedIn, it could be on different social media place.
Make sure you know you say, hey, I just wanted
to reach out Happy New Year, or hey, I just
recently went to a conference that we met at and
I thought of you, or different things like that. Build
genuine connections and really follow up and reach out, and
(05:15):
you don't have to get too personal with anything. You
can just say, hey, did you see a new article today,
or different things that may have your common interest in mind,
and just make sure you nurture that networking relationship and
you get to just start how deep you want to
nurture into the relationship. But that is a good way
to keep your network and have genuine interest in what
(05:37):
each other is doing and striving for and working towards.
So that's another tip when networking is to you know,
follow up and build genuine connections. The good thing about
networking is that you guys get to both provide value
to each other. So sometimes people have already been through
the journey that you're navigating, and you can ask them
tips for success along their journey, different resources they may
(05:59):
have used for platforms, software, whatever your interest is that
you both have. Those people can lend great things to you,
and you can also give knowledge to them that maybe
they may not have. So the good thing about networking
is you get to expand your horizons, learn new things,
meet new people, and grow together. And that's the great
thing about networking relationships. And sometimes you never know where
(06:22):
they might take you. Some people network at a conference
and they end up working together at the same company.
Sometimes teachers network with different students and they end up
getting their teacher once they retire at the company they're at.
Different things happen where you never know how that networking
can impact you in the future, maybe five or ten
years down the road. But of course genuine connection is
(06:43):
the first part. Don't just network to see what someone
can do for you. Make sure you have something to
offer in the relationship as well, whether it's a tip
to distress or Hey, when I was going through a
similar situation, this is how I went through that, and
this is the resources that helped me. Make sure you
know when you network that is a give and take.
It's not all take, And make sure that you are
(07:05):
nurturing it as you would with your regular friendships, no
matter the age difference age gap. One thing you just
want to make sure is that you are of value
in the networking relationship as well. Super important as well
is to think about the quality of the relationships versus
the quantity of networking relationships you make. So sometimes people
are like, I just need to have one hundred people
(07:28):
in my network because I want to say I network
with one hundred people. That's not always the best way.
It's okay to have a smaller group or selection of
people and just continue to nourish those because those are
people that really have genuine care for you and that
will poaranto you and give the truth and that you
can build trust with. So make sure you're building quality
relationships over quantifiable relationships, and that's super important. And make
(07:52):
sure even as seasons changed and things transition, to still
keep in touch with the people that helped you start
off originally with your networking journey or your mentorship journey.
It's super important to remember the people that were there
when we had nobody and just to make sure you
let them know I do appreciate you, and you were
there during a very pivotal time in my life, and
(08:13):
that's super important as well. So I hope you enjoyed
these tips for networking. I hope you get to use
a few. Please like, comment and subscribe, and please comment
any other tips you use when networking that maybe other
viewers can use as well. Thank you for joining All
things then with Ashley, have a great day.
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