How to Strengthen Your Network When You’re Just Starting Out

Author: Holly Raider

When you’re just starting out, making new connections and strengthening your professional network are vital to getting to where you want to go. But the guidance you need, like how to thrive in a new role or pursue a promotion, can be difficult to find in your inner circle.

New employees tend to make professional connections based on proximity (colleagues they see the most) or commonalities (the colleagues most like themselves). But that’s a mistake. When you network with colleagues like you or near you, you create an echo chamber that circulates only the same ideas about the same opportunities. That sameness benefits neither you nor your peers, especially when it comes to innovation and growth.

While it may be intimidating to leave the safety of your circle, you should. Strong, diverse networks help you stay on top of the latest trends in your industry, meet new collaborators, and gain access to opportunities or resources that can help you be more effective in your work. The best (yet often overlooked) way to build this kind of network is to focus on your lateral connections: peers who work in different areas of your company. Many early-career employees don’t recognize how powerful these relationships can be.

Lateral connections give you a broader, more varied view of your organization, one that ultimately shapes the quality of your work and gives you access to breakthrough opportunities. Let’s say you are a sales associate who has limited interactions with a coordinator on the product development team. Taking the initiative to form a relationship with that person could expose you to the innovations they are working on, allowing you to gain a deeper understanding of each product and equipping you with the personal stories behind their development. Those insights and stories will enable you to be far more effective in making a sale. Meanwhile, the product coordinator will learn from you exactly how a customer thinks when deciding whether to buy the product, allowing your colleague to make smarter suggestions fueled by customer insights during brainstorming meetings.

This is just one example of how mutually beneficial these cross-departmental relationships can be. Strengthening your interdepartmental network can also give you access to opportunities that may be brewing in other parts of your company before they become public.

So how exactly can you start?

Look for people you can learn from

During companywide or cross-departmental meetings, pay attention and make note of the people and projects you find most interesting. It’s best to be strategic about this—don’t reach out only to those who seem like they’d make a good friend; reach out to those whose work has some intersection with your own. If you’re an editor, think about connecting with the graphic designers whose work complements your writing. If you’re in finance, consider reaching out to your peers in sourcing and discuss with them how the company manages currency fluctuations or transportation costs.

Meet up

A helpful way to build lateral connections is by attending or planning events with people who are not on your team. If you work in person, message a couple of peers in other departments with whom you’d like to connect and ask if they’d like to grab a quick lunch. If you’re working remotely, virtual group happy hours or coffee breaks are good options. Conversations that occur during these meetings are often informal and free-flowing. Remember, your goal should be building strong relationships, not just exchanging notes about work. That starts with getting to know people.

Be sure to follow up with those you most want to keep up with. You might send them a quick email the next day, saying, “Hi! I’m [] and I joined [] days ago.” Then state something personal to make the connection, like, “I heard during the virtual happy hour that you’re learning Spanish on Duolingo. I was excited to hear that as I’m interested in studying a second language, too.” Finally, make a small request: “Would you like to meet for coffee and chat a bit more sometime?”

People usually enjoy talking about their experiences, so if your questions are respectful and specific, it’s rare that they will turn you down. This is a great way to start things off. You will inspire each other and, better yet, help each other solve problems through sharing your diverse experiences and expertise.

Create or join online chat groups

If you’re working remotely, take advantage of apps like Slack. Find out if there are existing chat groups you could join. If not, you could take the lead on setting up channels for specific topics (and they don’t have to be about work!). Think travel, tech, cooking, gardening, film, or a word-of-the-day group. Begin by asking your colleagues what topics they are most interested in discussing, then bring together the group virtually.

For starters, you and the other people in the group will have one thing in common: the reason you joined it. Generate active participation by asking a colleague or two to jump-start the chat. Others will follow suit organically.

Say yes more often

Another excellent strategy for building lateral connections is to embrace assignments that involve collaboration with new counterparts in the organizations. If your company has volunteer opportunities, such as the sustainability committee, social planning committee, or DEI committees, volunteer. These are often cross-departmental opportunities and are a valuable way to get to know people you’d normally not work with. You can learn about these opportunities at your company’s intranet, via e-newsletters, and by asking your supervisor or HR representative.

Many companies have social opportunities as well. One of my mentees, an internal sales representative, found out about her company’s softball team by talking with her peers in another department. Through this, she has friendships with peers she would not otherwise have met. Also check out your company’s learning and development website. It will have information on short courses, which are a terrific way to build your skills and meet new people.

Show curiosity to transform a connection into a relationship

Once you have made an initial connection, you can build toward a strong relationship that makes the most of your complementary skills and experiences. Start with showing your interest in understanding others’ work by asking specific questions, and even asking for advice that would be easy for them to give. For example, if a colleague in human resources gives a presentation that intrigues you, let them know and see if they could spare 20 to 30 minutes helping you prepare for a presentation you are developing. By asking for help, you will receive valuable assistance and strengthen your connection along the way. As Ben Franklin wrote in his autobiography, “He that has once done you a kindness will be more ready to do you another, than he whom you yourself have obliged.” Start there, but be sure to provide reciprocity—a one-sided connection is not a pathway to a strong relationship.

These strategies are straightforward, but too often are overlooked and undervalued. Making lateral connections is important for not just strengthening your network but also leading you to new opportunities. They can help you be more effective in your work and spark great ideas by bridging the different worlds of knowledge you will have available through your network—not to mention, they are some of the easiest to achieve.