If you are planning to attend a networking event or are simply trying to figure out how to talk to someone in a professional setting, you’ve come to the right place. Networking skills certainly do not come naturally for most people. Even when the skills come naturally, understanding the proper way to network an ask for career advice is crucial.
Asking For Career Advice
As you start to dive into networking, it is essential to know how to ask for advice. While all networking activities don’t involve seeking or getting advice, gaining knowledge from your peers and mentors is a fundamental aspect of networking.
How do you approach someone for career advice?
In the simplest sense, here’s how to ask for advice:
- Do research/analysis to identify the right person to talk to
- Know/identify what you are asking them. Be specific.
- Briefly explain your situation and problem.
- Get their feedback
- Ask follow up questions
- Show gratitude
If you’d like to get deep into the subject of asking for advice, here’s a great resource from the Harvard Business Review.
How do you ask for job advice via email?
Luckily, the answer is much the same as above. When asking via email, be certain to be specific. By beginning with small questions and working to a larger point you will be more likely to get results. Also, be careful of your tone. It’s easy to misunderstand people over email, so always make an effort to sound kind and genuine.
30+ Questions to Ask When Networking
Now that you have an understanding of how to ask for advice, here are the best questions to ask when networking. Each set of questions has been broken down into a larger category. Be sure not to miss the best networking questions at the end of this article.
Topic Ideas – What to talk about during networking
When trying to connect with other professionals you should always be as authentic as possible. Networking is as much a friendship as it is anything else. If you need help getting started, here are some topics:
- Career Choice
- Job Responsibilities
- Company, Culture, Diversity
- Industry
- College/Education
- Hometown
- Fashion/Style
- Recent News/Current Events
The Basics - What are good questions to ask when networking
Here are some basic questions that are crucial to networking:
Career Choice
- What is your job?
- Do you enjoy it?
- Did you always want to work in this field/be in this position?
- Is your career path similar to others in this field?
- Where do you hope/plan to go next in your career?
- If you could go back in time, do you think you’d choose this same career?
Job Responsibilities
- What do you spend most of your time on at work?
- Is your job consistent or is there variety in what you do?
- How many hours do you usually work per week?
- What kind of projects are you working on now?
- What do you find most surprising about the role?
- How is your performance measured?
- What aspect of your job do you find the most rewarding?
- What do you find most challenging about your job?
Company, Culture, Diversity
- Is your role remote or in-person?
- Do you travel much for work?
- What’s the company culture like?
- Is your company facing any big challenges?
- What are some of the company’s main goals?
- Is culture and diversity important to your company?
- What does your company do to promote diversity?
Industry
- What has changed most about this industry since you started?
- What skills are most useful to someone in this industry?
- Where do you see this industry going in the future?
- What publications do you recommend I subscribe to in order to stay up to date on this industry’s trends?
College/Education
- Where’d you go to school?
- What did you study?
- Why did you choose [their major]?
- What do you think is the best degree for this field?
- Do you feel like your education prepared you for your job?
- Is education important for this field?
Miscellaneous
- Where are you from?
- Did you like it there?
- What do you like to do outside of work?
- Where did you get those [pants/shoes/etc.]?
- Did you hear about [recent event]?
- How do you think [recent event] will affect [your industry/company]
- How can we keep in touch?
The Best - Networking Questions You Must Ask
Beyond the basics, these are 3 excellent questions you must ask when networking:
1. How did you begin your career?
Asking about their career path is very beneficial to understanding if this position requires a rigid progression from one job to another or if it is more flexible, allowing a variety of individuals to succeed. It gives a great understanding as to what you need to do to get into the field.
2. If you think about a newly hired employee that you enjoyed working with, what are some of their characteristics that come to mind?
This is a great way to drill down on specific characteristics or skills to work on developing in yourself. Unlike other networking questions, it requires them to think of a specific example which will lead to more tangible advice.
3. After this discussion, do you have any recommendations for who I should talk to next?
This question is a great way to launch into additional discussions with other professionals. Whether you are meeting for a coffee, at a networking event, or talking on the phone, this can be a really useful question. This question doesn’t put a lot of pressure on the person, so they can easily say no. However, it can launch you into new conversations and opportunities that you wouldn’t have had if you hadn’t asked this question.
Final Thoughts on Questions to Ask When Networking
Networking isn’t easy for everyone. It comes naturally for some, while feeling a little uncomfortable and difficult for others. Networking skills, like so many other things in life, are something that can be developed over time. Just be patient, use these questions and ideas, and trust that you can improve at networking as you work at it.
If you need some additional confidence, check out the other resources for job seekers on our blog!
