1) Expand your network
The importance of networking and its influence on your career can often get overlooked, but it has a huge role to play when it comes to professional development and access to the hidden job market.
Getting involved in an LN gives you the chance to meet local engineers from all walks of life and stages in their career, and is a great way of expanding your network.
2) Practice new skills in a safe environment
LNs give you a great opportunity to practice and develop your soft skills in a safe environment. Use the network as your playground and get your hands dirty in areas such as finance, organisaton and communication, helping you to hone skills you’ll use later in the workplace.
3) Master your people skills
People can be funny creatures, and engineers even more so. By becoming an LN committee member you’ll interact with different groups of people through roles including treasurer and secretary. By spending more time in different circles you’ll master those interpersonal skills that are so important in your career.
Just remember, you can design the most amazing thing in the world, but if you can’t convince people they need it you’ll get nowhere!
4) Learn more
Engineering is ever changing, so stay ahead of the game and widen your specialist and general knowledge by attending network talks on the latest cutting edge technologies, taking part in site visits and signing up for workshops. LNs are all about exposing you to new ideas in a fun environment.
If there’s something you’d like to see but it doesn’t appear to be covered then LNs are more than happy for you to pitch ideas for future events. This leads us on to…
5) Get creative
IET Local Networks are great outlets for creativity. By becoming an active LN member you’ll have the opportunity to try out new ideas – perhaps you have a different event format you’d like to try out or there’s a topic you’d really love to see covered at a future seminar. The IET encourages creativity and is more than happy to facilitate ideas for new kinds of events and topics.