I beg to differ on this one. Maybe I'm old school but I have never gotten a job based on what I know. It has always been a referral from someone that I know already. That continues to this day. AND, as a hiring manager I rely on my network to find good people way more than I look at resumes.
In addition, I am involved with some really amazing networks of people in Slack channels and other communities that help extend my knowledge across a vast array of subject areas. I think that networking is probably more important now than it ever has been...but to your point above, it has vastly expanded via technology.
Now, because it is so much easier to stay connected with people in our lives across space and time our ability to network with more people has expanded immensely. Tools like Facebook, Reddit and LinkedIn allow us to expand universes from tightly held connections to loosely coupled. But the need and value of a network is higher than ever.
In fact, with the ability to educate oneself via so many ways on the internet these days. One might say that what you know is way less important than knowing where to go to educate yourself.
If "what-you-know" is increasingly important, then "who-you-know" still matters a lot, but for different reasons. Not for access to opportunities or visibility, but because "who-you-know" heavily influences "what-you-know".
We only have so much time to invest in skills and knowledge, and it's much more efficient to learn and gather insights from experts in their own field rather than spending years developing them yourself.
So it's worth the effort to maintain relationships with people who know a lot and it goes both ways; you have invest effort in becoming a "what-you-know" kinda person to have meaningful relationships with other "what-you-knows".
Auden, what an interesting read. In my limited fundraising experience, I have found that investors are willing to share a great idea within their network and endorse a solid business that creates value quickly. For this reason we grew from 25 investors to 280 investors in a short time and funded 80% of our capital needs outside of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation grant, DoD contract award and US Army SBIR grant award for dry powder vaccine development and cancer therapeutics.
I would not underestimate the value of a growing network as long as there is regular clear communication from both sides. Thank you for your valuable insights.
I beg to differ on this one. Maybe I'm old school but I have never gotten a job based on what I know. It has always been a referral from someone that I know already. That continues to this day. AND, as a hiring manager I rely on my network to find good people way more than I look at resumes.
In addition, I am involved with some really amazing networks of people in Slack channels and other communities that help extend my knowledge across a vast array of subject areas. I think that networking is probably more important now than it ever has been...but to your point above, it has vastly expanded via technology.
Now, because it is so much easier to stay connected with people in our lives across space and time our ability to network with more people has expanded immensely. Tools like Facebook, Reddit and LinkedIn allow us to expand universes from tightly held connections to loosely coupled. But the need and value of a network is higher than ever.
In fact, with the ability to educate oneself via so many ways on the internet these days. One might say that what you know is way less important than knowing where to go to educate yourself.
If "what-you-know" is increasingly important, then "who-you-know" still matters a lot, but for different reasons. Not for access to opportunities or visibility, but because "who-you-know" heavily influences "what-you-know".
We only have so much time to invest in skills and knowledge, and it's much more efficient to learn and gather insights from experts in their own field rather than spending years developing them yourself.
So it's worth the effort to maintain relationships with people who know a lot and it goes both ways; you have invest effort in becoming a "what-you-know" kinda person to have meaningful relationships with other "what-you-knows".
Interesting take. Thanks Auren.
Auden, what an interesting read. In my limited fundraising experience, I have found that investors are willing to share a great idea within their network and endorse a solid business that creates value quickly. For this reason we grew from 25 investors to 280 investors in a short time and funded 80% of our capital needs outside of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation grant, DoD contract award and US Army SBIR grant award for dry powder vaccine development and cancer therapeutics.
I would not underestimate the value of a growing network as long as there is regular clear communication from both sides. Thank you for your valuable insights.
Tom Brady
VP Flow Pharma
626-627-3015 mobile
TBrady@flowpharma.com
www.flowpharma.com