Change you self talk from "I'm not good at networking" to "I'm not currently good at networking", go read "How to Win Friends and Influence People", then implement a bit of it in your daily life and reap the rewards.
how/where do you network when you live in a remote location?
the main problem is that making new connections takes a long time and consistency meeting people over and over again before you any friendship takes hold.
i now try to network on online events, but that is exhausting and i feel torn between working on my current contract, searching and applying for jobs/projects and joining events. it's like i don't know where to focus because it feels like there is no progress an any of those activities. add taking care of family to that and it soon becomes overwhelming
Try websites (I would say "social media" but that has a negative stigma) where people in your field congregate. You don't have to do it to the point of exhaustion; just dip you feet in the stream once in a while to gauge the temperature. Eventually you'll find someone or something to talk about. Heck, find a channel/board/area/whatever dedicated to just random chat, and start up a conversation about something you're passionate about.
Building a network takes time, and there's no telling when it will pay off. It might be tomorrow, next week, next month, or next year. But at the end of the day, people will keep you on their radar if they sense that you're at least one of the following: reliable, smart, good at communicating. If you manage to get two out of three you're way ahead of most people.
em-bee|1 year ago
the main problem is that making new connections takes a long time and consistency meeting people over and over again before you any friendship takes hold.
i now try to network on online events, but that is exhausting and i feel torn between working on my current contract, searching and applying for jobs/projects and joining events. it's like i don't know where to focus because it feels like there is no progress an any of those activities. add taking care of family to that and it soon becomes overwhelming
kmoser|1 year ago
Building a network takes time, and there's no telling when it will pay off. It might be tomorrow, next week, next month, or next year. But at the end of the day, people will keep you on their radar if they sense that you're at least one of the following: reliable, smart, good at communicating. If you manage to get two out of three you're way ahead of most people.