Question

4. Case study
Lin attends a professional development workshop that runs for two full days in the city. She is from a small country service with limited resources and support available to her. She feels quite lost when she enters the group, as everyone seems to know each other and they are standing around in small groups talking. Once
the presenter of the session arrives and asks everyone to take a seat, Lin shuffles quietly to the back row and sits to the side leaving a space between herself and the next person. Throughout the morning, the moderator asks many questions to allow the participants to provide examples of ways they currently implement practices within their services. Lin feels she may say the wrong thing or ask a silly question, so she says nothing and keeps her attention on the moderator. During the morning break, Lin uses the bathroom and takes time making a coffee. She pretends to be busy writing some notes until the group returns. At the end of the session, Lin leaves hurriedly.

4.1 What could Lin have done differently when attending the professional development seminar to develop her professional network?

4.2 Provide the details of some professional network that help an employee to build relationships. Explain how an informal network can support your professional practice.

Answer 1

4.1 Lin, in order to develop her personal network should have interacted with all the participants instead of just sitting all alone and being on her own. Lin should have started interacted before the beginning of the session and tried to break the ice initially.

Further, Len should have involved herself in asking questions and talk to the participants and discuss her concerns, instead of just focusing on the moderator. Another chance for Lin to develop her professional network was during the tea break, and instead of using washroom and making coffee for maximum period of time, should have talked to other participants and explored her professional side. Also, after the completion of the session, Lin should have taken some time out and again talked to the people or even exchanged numbers for further contact.

4.2 One of the most popular and widely used professional network used by employees to build relationship is LinkedIn. This platform helps employees to highlight their professional stories and progress over the period of time and also come in contact with number of professionals in your concerned field. This helps in being in contact with learned people from different sectors across the globe and hence improve one's relationships.

Moreover, the informal network is also helpful in supporting your professional growth and practice and the friends you are close to, if have access to some big firms or are involved in some serious professional growth models and projects can also share their links with you and make you familiar with the same.