Networking... selling yourself... my worst nightmare! Yes I
can go and talk to a hall full of kids, I can run a rhyme time with 30 screaming
toddlers, but talk about myself big no no! I think it’s fair to say I am not the only one who feels like this and therefore do the
bare minimum to get by... it’s like I said when I started this blog I find it
very difficult to separate the personal and professional in my life and virtual
worlds get mangled. LinkedIn is totally a professional tool for me and I don’t
know if it is for this reason that I very rarely update it or check in. My
Twitter account (@lady_libris) is my in-between account running a mixture of
library and personal posts... if you follow me you get the whole package, yes I
could have two accounts but that just sounds like too much hassle. Facebook is
solely personal and I have succumbed to the common belief that LinkedIn is the
office and Facebook the party.
I’ve dipped into other online
networks tentatively such as LISNPN to see what’s going on and have taken part
in #uklibchat and #chartership chats on Twitter which always seem to bring up
the same people and I have found this a good way to begin professional
relationships. But what’s the next step after this? It is difficult for me to get time away for
conferences and training days due to staffing so how do you build up these relationships
if you miss chances to meet up?
In terms of physical networking beginning
my chartership journey has opened doors to new professional contacts of a
similar age and experience and I have met professionals in my region who I have
a tentative Twitter relationship with. I also have a network of colleagues with
whom I studied for my Masters and they are an endless source of help and
comfort but also of professional advice and support. I don’t know if I am alone
in not being able to find a balance... I do not want to spend every waking hour
attached to my laptop on social and professional networks but then you miss out
on opportunities. I follow most things online these days and am very good at
finding excuses to not go out and meet people, take opportunities that are
handed out so maybe I need to stop worrying and jump in.
So I think in short you get
involved and you get more out right? Well, I can try and we’ll see what
happens....
