3a Current Networks

Networking is an important part of any professional career. It is through networking that we can keep up to date, find out useful information, meet new people and develop new contacts. It is all about getting to know other people, their interests and in doing so hoping that this will provide mutual benefit.

Its not what you know but who you know!

Sadly this phrase is all too true. All too often opportunities come through one off meetings with someone. For example I worked a one off promotional event 2 years ago, when the girl I worked with told me about this website Stuck for Staff. I searched the site that evening and joined to find so much promotional work listed on there. Since that meeting I have had regular promotional work in between contracts and it is the number one place I find my work from.

However, effective networking is about our ability to create and maintain a relationship with people we meet all over our professional career. we all have many different networks and frequency in which we use them. For example I have a lot of close friends who I worked with on contracts that I am frequent contact with then I have my agents, past teachers and choreographers who I don't contact very often. Networking entrepreneur Ivan Misner argues:

"It's not what you know or who you know- its how well you know them that really counts"

(Ivan Misner, June 2010)

Reading his blog made me think of my contacts I have in the industry. I have so many past colleagues for example on Facebook that some I haven't made contact with in years. So it is one thing to say I know people in the business but would I call them up and ask them for a favor? Probably not at this point in time as I do not feel I know some of them well enough.

So how can we network effectively? well maybe being in the right place at the right time is a good starting point. Being in places where situations are likely to happen- for example taking classes at Pineapple say presents many opportunities such as meeting the teacher, other dancers, seeing the jobs board etc etc. Sometimes a simple introduction to someone is enough but we do sometimes need to take risks for example getting a business card, phone number or email address of someone who we have made a connection with. It requires confidence and stepping out of our comfort zone but I think the more we can do it the better we will be. I can think of a couple of occasions at auditions where I have spoken to some good dancers and thinking now I wish I would have got the courage to ask for their numbers as you never know who they might be able to put me in contact with or what loop they are in.

But as Misner points out we must keep and maintain these relationships in order for them to be beneficial by being in regular contact with them. I kept in regular contact with my ballet teacher from Elmhurst because my brother went there when he was 11 after I left so we stayed in touch. I was thankful for this contact as she has written me references for a couple of jobs and applications. This shows the importance of maintaining regular contact as no one wants to feel like you are using them for something.

My current networks are:
- past and present teachers
- past production managers/directors
- past teachers/choreographers
- friends in the business
- previous colleauges

My tools that I currently use to engage with these networks are:
- Email
- Facebook (mainly)
- Telephone
- Arranging meetings
- Promo Jobs Pro
- Stuck for Staff

A site that was explained to me by Stacy at the recent campus session was Linkedin. This is more of a business oriented website that apparently a lot of casting directors use. When I came home I realised that I actually had already registered a while ago but never made my profile up. I think sometimes you can join too many sites and it is hard to keep up with them all. But after talking to Stacy I went back on and have started to edit my profile. I am hoping that using this site will help me expand my contacts and be able to network with other professionals.

At the start of my career I never used contacts to obtain a job as my network was very limited. Straight out of college my network consisted of my school/dance friends from Elmhurst and teachers who trained me. I was not on any social networking sites nor did I have an agent. I relied solely on looking at The Stage or some casting websites to find auditions and that was how I landed two agents and contracts. Networking showed me it's benefits when I was working out in the States. It was through meeting people and making friends out there that I found out about the auditions for 'Flip5 Live!' the show. A dancer friend of mine talked about how she went to school with the son of a director and also was taught by the choreographer back when she was little of a big production company that helped her land a contract.

The more experienced we become in our profession, the bigger our networks will be. Other dancers now ask for my advice or links in the business. The further along we get in our careers the more we are able to give back due to the experience based learning we have received.