Networking 'crucial' for women in business
19/03/2010
An expert has suggested that women in business need to be less shy when it comes to networking if they want to get ahead.
Jessica Pryce-Jones, chief executive of human asset management consultancy
iOpener, told
The Times newspaper that while men seem to find networking comes relatively easily, it can be more of a challenge for females.
But, she added, women need to be more strategic and confident in their approach to reaching out to others and becoming more visible.
“It’s all about finding a strategy that works for you," she explained. "It’s about thinking I can’t do the footy chat, and I’m damned if I’m going to talk about darts and drink beer. So perhaps it means volunteering within your organisation, setting up some charitable initiative that gets you noticed.”
Pryce-Jones, who has also written management book Happiness at Work said that networking was about "forming relationships that can be used to help others and get help in return" rather than being manipulative.
"You need to accept that it is a game," she said. "You are not helping your organisation if you are in the corner hiding behind a pot plant.”
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