It’s generally understood that the act of networking among medical professionals can be ground-breaking for your career. Meeting new people and having someone in your network who can put you in touch directly with hiring managers is the best way to improve your candidacy for the role. But there are other benefits of growing your network, too, with other implications for your career growth and trajectory. Making friends and collaborating with colleagues, regardless of their positions in relation to yours, can be significant assets for your career.
The Best Place to Secure Referrals
Just two years ago, 31% of job seekers found available openings using their professional networks and connections. The most significant benefit to growing your network is opening doors and putting your resume ahead of the pack with great referrals. And it’s the colleague network and professional relationships you build now that can lead to those much-needed referrals later.
Puts You in Touch with New Opportunities
Finding a new job opportunity means hitting the job boards and reaching out to hiring managers. However, when you have a network of colleagues with whom you routinely connect and collaborate, you’ll have an inside track to new openings you might not find otherwise. Word-of-mouth is still a powerful resource for career growth and opportunity. And it’s your network of professional coworkers, colleagues, and specialists who can share those announcements and upcoming openings.
Casting Your Net Wider
When it comes to connecting and getting in touch with hiring managers, spotting new openings, or securing referrals, you can always rely on your own network of colleagues and contacts. But when you grow your network and groom those relationships ongoing, you essentially are casting your net even wider to include their connections. Much like the method behind sharing a post on social media, you can cast your career development net even wider when you can share your network with the networks of others.
Have Insights from Others Who Share Your Vision
Networking with other medical professionals across a variety of niches can put you in touch with others who share your vision for innovation and patient care. Together, the collaborative effort can result in great improvements within organizations and industries alike. Team up with those who are just as passionate about the job as you are and help each other grow in similar directions, bettering healthcare along the way.
Increase Your Ability to Help Others
The more people you keep in your colleague circle, the more opportunities you have to help others with their connections and goals. While you might be focused on improving your career trajectory, it’s also important to remember that helping others achieve their career objectives can have lasting effects on your journey. Be open to assisting others with their connections and finding career opportunities. And they’ll be more apt to reciprocate when you need the help.
Discover New Passions
When you grow and cultivate a network of colleagues, you put yourself in a position to grow and learn in new directions. And it might be the journey of a fellow medical professional that inspires you to take steps in a new direction. Discover a new passion or just reconnect with a dormant one when you can share and learn from others.
Your Social Well-Being Matters
If you’re currently in a role that requires you to work alone or, on occasion, feels isolating, it’s the act of networking that will provide the social well-being you need to feel and stay connected to your industry. It’s hard to find opportunities and meet new people if you’re not actively seeking and growing your network. Make time for luncheons and meet new hires in your department. You might not make an immediate headway with new jobs. But your overall well-being will benefit and keep you on the right side of growth and career advancement.
Boosting Your Healthcare Professional Confidence
In addition to the social and career benefits, there are professional confidence advantages to routine networking. If you believe or consider yourself to be an introvert or a bit shy, professional mingling among colleagues can be just the exercise in confidence you need. Share your ideas and talk about common challenges. You’ll find your confidence snowballs, making you a stronger candidate when it comes time for a referral or career change.
What initiatives are you taking to grow your network and improve your professional colleague relationships? Even when you connect with those across various healthcare niches and positions, you can tap into the many advantages of expanding your access to career opportunities. For more suggestions and tips related to career growth in the healthcare professions, follow our ongoing blog series. And when you’re ready to make a change, the InSync Healthcare Recruiters team can help put you in touch with some of the leading roles available right now.