There are professional organizations for just about every professional career field that exists. Before you can start networking through professional organizations, you must identify which professional organization(s) to join and be involved.
At a minimum, you should be able to find at least one or two professional organizations in your career field.
These organizations exist to provide their members with valuable services, such as professional support, lobbying, public-relation liaison, establishing and maintaining industry standards and ethics, as well as a forum for interaction and networking.
Some of the different types of business networking organizations that you may consider to join include:
- Business referral organizations. Business referral organizations bring together professionals and business owners in order to build relationships and refer new businesses to each other. This is the sole purpose of these organizations – driving business for the participants.
- Service-based organizations. Some business networking organizations are more about helping and supporting the professional community and are less about advancing businesses. Examples are Rotary International; Habitat for Humanity etc.
- Education and Mentorship organizations. Some business networking groups specifically bring together new and experienced professionals and business owners for learning and mentorship opportunities.
- Large-scale business networking organizations. To sole focus of these organizations is building local connections. Sometimes these organizations aim to provide more than just local networking opportunities. Examples of such types of organizations are Business Networking International (BNI), EON etc.
- Professional organizations. Many professional organizations also offer profession-specific networking opportunities for their members. Examples include Law Bar Associations; Law firms accounting firms networks etc.
What are some of your criteria for which organization to join and to connect with relevant people?
If you’re ready to learn how to find, choose, and prioritize the different organizations to join as a member and connect with the right people, check out this Practice How To within the SWITCH membership NOW!
