How to be a girl boss: tips to take the stress out of networking
Recent graduates Nina (B. Commerce (Honours)/ B. Law 2016) and Adriana (B. Commerce (Liberal Studies) 2016) are on a mission to empower young women through the ENID Network; a careers support program named after Enid Lyons, the first woman to be elected to Australia鈥檚 House of Representatives and Nina鈥檚 great, great aunt. Their objective is to give girls in high school and uni the 鈥榖ig sister鈥� advice they wished they had received.
The ENID Network connects students with relatable young women who have forged considerable success in their fields. These 鈥榞irl bosses鈥� provide meaningful career advice and help students discover new opportunities. They achieve this by creating digital content, running high school workshops, and hosting on-campus events at the University of Sydney. In the future, Nina and Adriana plan to expand their community of young women across Australian campuses.
On 1 June, ENID will collaborate with the University鈥檚 Network of Women (NOW) to bring young alumni back to campus for a networking evening.
鈥淎t the ENID x NOW Networking Event, you鈥檒l meet girls aged 24-28 who are fabulous and doing great things,鈥� says Nina. 鈥淭hese girls are relatable, and have just experienced the processes that you鈥檙e going through; they鈥檙e girls who you could probably go and get a coffee with, but they鈥檙e also going to be your role models.鈥澛�
The alumni community at the University of Sydney is so fantastic, and I don鈥檛 think students realise how much alumni want to give back and how much they have to offer.
One of the biggest challenges of getting established in the professional world is navigating through the sometimes dreaded process of 鈥榥etworking鈥�. But it needn鈥檛 be scary, as Nina explains ahead of the evening; sharing her top 5 tips to take the stress out of networking:
1. Know your worth
鈥淲hen I went to networking events during university, I鈥檇 sometimes worry that I was a burden or wasting their time,鈥� Nina says. 鈥淕o with the mindset that people are there to talk to you, that your story is meaningful and valuable, and that there鈥檒l always be something about you that resonates with someone there.鈥�
2. Make 鈥榗areer friends鈥�
鈥淣etworking can seem scary and out of reach, or have connotations of exploitation. But I just see it as meeting really interesting people or 鈥榗areer friends鈥� who might influence my career path,鈥� she says.
鈥淭he alumni community at the University of Sydney is so fantastic, and I don鈥檛 think students realise how much alumni want to give back and how much they have to offer. They鈥檙e part of ENID鈥檚 network because they really want to give back by passing on tips, insights and experiences.鈥�
3. Ask dumb questions
鈥淎pproach networking events with a really open mind 鈥� we want girls to come to our evenings because they want to learn and take something away,鈥� explains Nina. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a place where you can ask the dumb questions and no-one鈥檚 going to judge you. They鈥檙e questions that everyone鈥檚 had, it鈥檚 just that sometimes you can鈥檛 find the answer in a simple way.鈥�
4. Look to your classmates
鈥淢y time studying here has given me so many connections 鈥� the people I鈥檝e met through my studies are my network, and I can say pretty comfortably that I can reach out to any of them to ask for tangible advice, assistance and support.鈥�
5. Nail the follow-up
鈥淎lways follow up 鈥� if you meet someone really great, take their card and send them an email in a week or so saying, 鈥業 really appreciate your time and advice, I鈥檇 love to grab a coffee in the near future and pick your brain some more鈥�,鈥� Nina suggests.
If you'd love to attend an event or get involved with the ENID Network send an email to Adriana and Nina at enid@enidnetwork.com