The importance of a scholarly reputation when you have a career in the academic field is probably one of the most essential aspects of your goals. While it’s difficult to maintain and move ahead in a career full of responsibilities, it’s something you have to get good at really quickly or risk the overwhelm that can come with instructional and research jobs, particularly at the university level.

Because of the imperative need for networking as part of the scholarly reputation, many institutions and surrounding professions host events called “speed networking.” In these meetings, professionals from the academic field and related sectors have the opportunity to introduce themselves and make connections with people who might be able to benefit them, or vice versa. Whether you’re attending or hosting a speed networking event, there are a lot of advantages.

What is a Speed Networking Event?

There are speed networking events that are done informally, and then there are those in which the concepts of speed networking are combined with formal, professional activities as you’d see in a university or corporate conference. These latter events are the ones that will benefit you the most in your career, now and in the future.

One of the attractions of a speed networking event is that you know going in that everyone there has the same intentions as you do. They want to meet others to connect and expand their network, as do you, so the concern of annoying or offending someone is diminished. Those who head into a typical conference will mingle with those they feel comfortable with, occasionally stepping out of their comfort zone to introduce themselves to one or two people they believe might be interested in furthering their professional relationship, but missing dozens of others. Speed networking changes the entire dynamics of the typical professional conference by matching individuals with those that have parallel interests.

The Benefits to Hosting or Attending These Conferences

Professionals, especially scientists, researchers, and instructors in the academic field, have enough demands on their time. The many tasks they are responsible for make it difficult to balance work and personal lives, much less network and meet others.

When you host or attend a speed networking event, you’re pulling out a set amount of time from your day, so you can plan accordingly. During this time, you’ll meet peers and professionals who have the same or similar interests, so you know your time will be productive and efficient. Mingling and meandering around a room uncomfortably often leaves those who aren’t interested in the typical trimmings of a social life feeling like the evening was wasted. With speed networking, you choose to attend only those events that are geared specifically towards something you want to pursue that will help you with your career path and meeting your goals.

How to Make Your Networking Event a Success

There are different types of speed networking events, both informal and formal. When your goal is to attract reputable professionals who already operate on a limited time frame, you have to ensure your event is run smoothly and efficiently.

One way to do this is to pre-sort your attendees so that they are getting specifically what they are looking for. Expert speakers can discuss pre-determined topics that the attendees can choose from as they network with those with similar interests. By choosing a set number of topics before registration, potential attendees can pick the ones they are interested in when they register. This helps you to gauge interest levels and plan better, and it gives those who are coming the knowledge that they are going to learn something they chose.

Individual speed networking works much the same way, except each person gets a set amount of time with the expert and each other to introduce themselves, ask questions, and interact. To make this go more smoothly, provide a list of FAQs to each attendee ahead of time so the expert speaker isn’t constantly repeating themselves and the questions can be more thoroughly considered. You may also want to give a list of potential questions to ask for those who are meeting their peers and aren’t sure how to begin the conversation.

Staying Interconnected Through Impactio

Your networking job isn’t over after the event ends and you go home. Networking is a continual process in which you stay in touch and build a professional bond throughout the years. This is done through social media easily, but it’s also common in professional programs used in the academic field, like Impactio.

Impactio’s all-in-one forum has the focal intention of allowing experts to publish and share their work, but it’s a connection tool, too. When you use Impactio to create your academic profile, you’re able to begin the process of networking with a community of scholars around the globe who also are part of the Impactio organization. Follow up with other scholars that you’ve met in speed networking or conferences, seek out others in your field of interest, and communicate professionally when you use the networking component of Impactio.