Networking emerged as one of the most bandied-about buzzwords of the
`80s.
Simply defined, networking means to meet with people to exchange information. Some people use networking to find a new job or increase their business, some use it to help improve their professional and personal skills, and others simply want to develop a supportive cast of new acquaintances.
In recent years as women entered the work force in increasing numbers, they laid claim to networking as their own: the feminine answer to the old boy`s network.
Du Page women, not to be outdone, have garnered a corner of the networking frenzy to themselves.
Most Du Page networking groups, either independent associations or chapters of larger organizations, were launched within the last 10 years.
Eileen Landau of Naperville said she first became attracted to a networking group by the idea of learning new skills at a seminar offered by Women`s Council of Realtors of the Western Suburbs.
”I`m a seminar junkie,” she said. ”It was a class on communication, writing and speaking. This introduced me to Women`s Council.”
She joined the group but believed Du Page was big enough to sponsor its own chapter. The group started with 10 members, grew to 26 in 6 months and now has 120 members.
Landau said women`s networking groups also were formed as a way for women to organize against sexual discrimination in the work place.
”In real estate, there definitely was discrimination,” said Landau, explaining that men used to discourage women from entering the field by excluding them from membership in national real estate organizations; so women started their own organization, Women`s Council. ”We just went around behind their backs and did it,” she said.
Women began recognizing how men used personal and professional contacts to promote business affairs.
”This is our answer to the old boy network that men have had all their lives,” said Pat May of Women in Careers. May has worked as an executive secretary for presidents and vice presidents and observed how they used this tool to increase their business contacts. ”I have found that networking does a lot to help you succeed,” she said.
Women needed to develop this skill, too, she said.
At first they tried joining established trade professions but found they wanted, and needed, more than these groups could offer. They wanted information and connections slanted toward women`s needs.
For instance, said Irene Bahr of the Du Page Association of Women Lawyers, women attorneys in Du Page wanted a network that provided more than the local bar association.
”It fills a need they don`t get from the general bar association: to talk about common, social and personal issues that relate to the profession. Many of the members are mothers, and there`s a lot of common support there, for instance, how to balance professional and home life.
The group started in 1982, she said, with a small core of Du Page women attorneys. Now there are 90 members.
Men do attend some of the club`s meetings, usually when a seminar is of interest. But most men shy away from becoming members, probably because of the feminine emphasis within the clubs.
”We`ve been approached by a couple of men. We`re not excluding them. I just think right now since there`s so many women there they don`t feel comfortable,” said Claudine Mulligan of the networking group EXEL.
Although most of the networking associations agree they offer a strong feminine support base, their primary thrust is to promote professional advancement.
”I`m not a tea and crumpets person,” said Landau, whose networking group emphasizes educational training. ”We look at this organization as providing skills nobody else is doing, particularly in leadership. There is a dearth of information in this area today.”
Networking groups fall basically into two categories, specific professional organizations or groups where the members belong to many professions. Of the latter, some groups, such as EXEL, Leads and Women Entrepreneurs, limit members to one person from each job category.
”The job categories are exclusive within the chapters,” said Mulligan.
”There`s no competition between members.”
Business is of utmost importance at EXEL breakfast business meetings. Its primary purpose is to help members increase their business through referrals. ”The whole idea for this group is to refer you to their clients beyond this group,” Mulligan said.
Referrals from networking do pay off, said Landau: ”We publish an annual directory that we use to refer clients. I`ve had five or six direct referrals in the past year that have resulted in successful sales.”
Referrals are particularly important for women starting a new business, said Mulligan: ”It`s hard for people in their own businesses just starting out. They need moral support and all the referrals they can get.”
Meetings of networking societies range from once a week to once a month at breakfasts, lunches or dinners with dues varying from $15 a year to more than $100. Most groups usually allow a set period for networking, then move on to a short business meeting and perhaps a lecture on professional or personal growth.
Although most of the networking groups say their immediate goals are to increase membership, they also stress the importance of working to achieve professional excellence. Du Page women, for the most part, are educated and place importance on growth and improvement, said Landau.
Women`s Forum in Naperville is an informal group of women who host seminars of general interest once a month.
”There are no bylaws. It is strictly a luncheon with a speaker and networking,” said Barbara Bernhard, a board member. ”It`s a quick method of coming in, networking, hearing a good speaker and getting back to work.”
Deb Keil of Enterprising Women said her group also emphasizes the need to provide professional education to its members: ”We are trying to give you an idea of what you know and what you lack and steer you toward the right sources.”
Bernhard has discovered that members of a large networking group such as Women`s Forum sometimes break off to start smaller informal networking groups among themselves.
”What I`ve noticed is that a lot of the women begin to network among themselves, and they form groups and meet on their own,” she said. ”I personally meet with a group composed of a lawyer, banker and psychotherapist. We started informally and are still going strong. We talk about everything from local politics and business ethics to religion. It runs the gamut.”
As an added benefit, members often help one another to cope with job-related problems. Keil was recently hired for a new job that required her to travel. She looked to her fellow members in Enterprising Women for suggestions on approaching this new aspect of her job.
”The advice and support I got from these women, particularly a lawyer and a travel agent, helped me through a transition period,” she said.
Networking groups can also serve as a sort of employment agency, a source to find a new job.
When someone is looking for a job in construction, the National Association of Women in Construction distributes her resume to the different chapters, said Carol DiRenzo of the Oak Brook Chapter. ”We help people find jobs in the industry,” she said.
Eventually some women opt to join a specific professional organizations or a multiprofessional organization. Judy Keel of Women Entrepreneurs of Du Page County said, however, women need to belong to both types of networking groups: ”As the number of available organizations grows, women are becoming more selective. But you need both types, for skills development, mentoring and visibility`s sake.”
Keil agrees: ”I belong to some professional organizations, but you have to develop a network outside of your own industry. It`s good to have it within, but you need it outside, too.”
Networking groups, then, provide women with business opportunities, education and professional support. An added benefit, say some members, is making new friends.
”It`s not a social group,” said Mulligan. ”The meetings are strictly business. But you do get to know the members, and you look forward to seeing them, and you miss them if they`re not there.”
