Networking When You Have Kids: 8 Ways to Make Valuable Career Contacts in your Everyday Life

Networking doesn’t die when you have kids – it just takes a different form.

Daycare

When your kids are small, they may attend a childcare center. This is a great place to meet fellow professionals since, by definition, dual-career families tend to be the ones who need childcare. You can get to know fellow parents at drop-off and school events. Think about reaching out to someone you connected with for a playdate. I’ve had many a work conversation with a fellow daycare parent at a childcare center event.

Before/After School Care

Elementary school kids may attend before and/or after care programs if you and your spouse both work full-time. Like daycare, the other kids in these programs are also likely to have parents who work. Talk to them! Ask your child who they play with before or after school. Try to get to know those parents at pickup or dropoff. Seek them out at school events. It’s usually pretty interesting to hear about what fellow parents do, whether it’s in your field or not.

Kids Sporting Events & Activities

By definition, you’re going to spend a good amount of time at your child’s activities. If your kid has one hour of soccer practice plus a one hour game every week for 8 weeks, that’s 16 hours you’ll spend with the other families. Don’t bury yourself in your phone – talk to the other parents! You’ll be amazed by the interesting careers you’ll hear about this way, and the bonus is that this is not just a one-time thing. Because you get a chance to see these parents multiple times, you can really develop lasting relationships!

Facebook Local or Niche Groups

I’ve made a lot of interesting local connections on Facebook groups! It seems counterintuitive but it’s much easier for a busy working mom to spend a few minutes posting on social media than it is to find a babysitter for a networking event, right? So use your social media time to your advantage and seek out groups in your area and in your field.  I was hired to give a talk at a local university because I responded to someone’s Facebook post, and I’ve had lunch with a couple of really fascinating ladies I met through another local group. It’s a pretty neat and low-effort way to meet fellow professionals.

Neighbors

You probably have neighbors, and they probably have jobs. This is another group that you’ll probably see over and over, whether it’s at the bus stop or at a neighborhood party. Chat with your neighbors when you have a chance and ask questions about what they do.  Because you’ll see your neighbors frequently, you can really establish relationships with them!

Daytime Industry & Networking Events

I usually attend a couple of weekday networking or industry events each year. These events typically occur over a long lunch. The usual format is that lunch will be served during a speaker or panel interview. The event usually builds in time for networking before and after. I really love attending events like this because I don’t have to make plans for childcare outside of work. My employer is fine with me to attending daytime events as long as the speaker is relevant to my job. And the networking period with speaker before/after format gives you a built-in conversation starter!

Your Own Hobbies & Activities

Talk to the other adults who share your hobbies or interests. Do you rock climb regularly? Chat with other regulars you see at the climbing gym. Go to exercise classes? Cool, get to know your fellow attendees. If you’re exercising outside of work hours, odds are pretty good that the folks in your classes also work. I’ve met some really (really!) interesting people in the course of my hobbies. From veterinarians to a circus acrobat, it’s pretty neat to hear about what others do.

Kids Birthday Parties

Parents don’t seem to like kid birthday parties, but I don’t mind them. At my kids’ ages, parents are still staying at the party. You probably already know these parents from other events, but if not it’s a great opportunity to get to know them. Although this isn’t a situation where you can presume that everyone works, you can still meet lots of interesting people while you’re all standing around for an hour and a half at a bouncy house. Use that time effectively and you’ll feel better about spending your Saturday afternoon at a birthday party.

Family Contact

I’ve always been afraid to leverage family contacts but there’s no harm in doing so if it makes sense. I recently was trying to figure something out at work, and my father in law put me in touch with someone who could help. It was really useful and I’m not sure why I’ve always avoided this so doggedly in the past. As long as you’re not taking advantage of your family’s contacts, there’s no reason not to use a shared connection to meet people.

Networking Does not Have to be a Dirty Word

Throw out your traditional notion of networking. It seems so slimy and disingenuous to me. We’re not going for that at all. Instead, seek out genuine connections with people and you’ll naturally want to share with and help each other! It doesn’t have to be weird or awkward (or occur at a “networking” event) – in fact, a connection that evolves organically will be so much richer!