This year we’ve been focusing our blog here at Powerful Purpose Associates on helping engineers in their transition from engineer to manager. One critical factor in advancing from engineer to manager will be your ability to develop relationships and bring in new business to your firm. In fact, the CEO of a reputable engineering company recently told me that currently when hiring, they are looking for well-rounded engineers with these skills, whom he referred to as seller-doers.
I have found the following to be important in successful relationship building and subsequently business development:
- Attend networking events that will allow you to build relationships in your industry.
- Be a resource to your clients and keep them up-to-date on industry news. LinkedIn allows you to do this by posting information on your profile and in relevant groups.
- Get involved in the community where you work. LinkedIn may help you to identify local community groups and/or events that you can contribute to/attend.
- Identify business partners or other consultants that may have some synergy with you and your company. You can use LinkedIn’s advanced search to search by keywords and ZIP Code to find these key partners/contacts.
Some other benefits that LinkedIn can provide you in your transition from engineer to manager include:
- The ability to build a profile with targeted keywords that will boost the web presence for you and your employer.
- The ability, through your existing online connections, to get introduced to key contacts that you may not already have relationships with.
Do you want to learn how to start using LinkedIn effectively?
In my new Institute for Engineering Career Development I am giving a webinar entitled 7 Steps to Building LinkedIn Relationships that Will Help You Advance Your Engineering Career on February 28th. During this webinar, you will learn both the basics and some advanced strategies for leveraging LinkedIn. Even if you missed the webinar date you will receive the recording of the webinar upon joining the Institute.
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To your success,
Anthony Fasano, PE, LEED AP
Engineering Management Institute
Author of Engineer Your Own Success