Networking for Nerds: Find, Access and Land Hidden Game-Changing Career Opportunities Everywhere

Introduction

The book you are reading right now is a direct result of networking. In 2011, I was writing an article for Science Magazine about common mistakes to avoid in the postdoc appointment and was looking for sources to interview. I asked a colleague if she knew of anyone and she introduced me to Sarah Andrus, an editor at Wiley who was overseeing a program called Wiley Science Advisors. Sarah transmitted my request for potential interviewees to her international network of Advisors and within mere hours I had more sources that I even needed. I immediately recognized that there was synergy between our interests and projects (as did she), and we began a series of discussions in which we learned about each other's goals and expertise and examined avenues for collaboration. This led to my giving a networking webinar as part of the Wiley Learning Institute in 2012, and another discussion with Sarah in August of that year which led to the birth of this book idea.

If I analyze my career as a series of opportunities – opportunities that I have either found, been told of, asked for, been offered, or created myself – I can easily see a direct path that has led me to where I am today. And every opportunity was a direct result of networking. Networking has literally gotten me jobs, awards, opportunities to sit on boards and committees, speaking engagements, invitations to review grant applications, invitations to apply for grants and fellowships, and now this book. Networking has ...