Professional networking isn’t about walking into a room full of strangers and trying to charm them into being your best friends. Nor is it about identifying the most senior people in the room and agreeing with everything they say. It’s about consciously and gradually building up a list of contacts, while being part of a mutually supportive group.

As we all know, networking within your organisation can benefit you in your current role and make you a potential candidate for promotions in your workplace. However, often forgotten is the fact that making professional contacts outside of your organisation can also help you excel in your career.

Now the question that arises is, what is the best way to develop these external connections? You could attend networking events but why limit yourself to formal events only? From our experience as a training provider, we can confidently say that professional training courses are a great opportunity to build a peer support network!

Benefits of a peer support network

1. Career Opportunities
One of the most obvious advantages to building a professional network is the possible career opportunities that come with it. Having contacts in the right places will ensure you have a heads-up about the latest openings, and a well-placed word could help you secure that interview.

Research shows that 70% of all jobs are not published publicly on job sites and as much as 80% of jobs are filled through personal and professional connections. So, start building that professional network and become part of that 80%!

2. A source of BA knowledge
A lot of the people you meet on business analysis courses are in similar roles or deal with similar projects so they often encounter similar problems at work! By building a network with fellow learners on the courses, you create a support group where you have the chance to discuss your problems together.

Your network can be an excellent source of new perspectives and ideas to help you in your role. Exchanging information on challenges, experiences and goals is a key benefit of networking because it allows you to gain new insights that you may not have otherwise thought of.

The Association for Talent Development reported that among people who are put in an environment with other professionals, 42% are inspired to think in new ways and 36% of people show increased creativity!

Put yourself in these environments and see your career develop. Get started on building your peer support network by attending a professional training course.

“The course was a very good environment to network and meet other practitioners.” – Kanima

To find out more about what courses we offer – Download our business analysis guide