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Professional Network

The Value of a Professional Network in Your Executive Education Program

The success of being a business executive depends on various aspects. One of the most compelling ones that stays with you through your career is your professional network. The value of a great professional network or peer network is that it can help propel your career, ideas, and professional plans and expand your professional being exponentially.

Also read: Executive Education Trends 2023

According to a February 2019 Cornell SC Johnson College of Business article, 75-80% market penetration comes from relationship building, while only around 5-6% come from job postings.

Making connections with professionals takes time. 1 or 2 evenings might not be enough to strike a bond. An executive education program is a perfect place to build a bond over a period of time while working on projects together and understanding people’s personalities. Programs like these allow you to develop professional relationships over time and over common or at least similar goals. The value of which is often immeasurable.

Common ground

Whether industry or designation or some other criteria, it’s important to have a peer group with something in common. Unlike conferences, which might be good in other aspects, executive education programs are the perfect place to make a genuine connection with your peers since the common ground is driven by more than one aspect. Given that executive education programs usually ensure that all participants are at the same level, it is easy to find a connection with your peers. Having common ground encourages participation and inclusivity, which in turn gives you higher value and helps you grow as a professional.

Opportunity

As a business executive, surely you will look for opportunity in every situation – the opportunity to grow, to expand, and to learn. Aside from the curriculum itself, an executive education program is a great place to gain some long-standing benefits from a peer group. They become, not only your alumni, but also potential partners, clients, or even investors. And that kind of value is hard to come by. Not only will you be connected and form bonds with the professionals in your own class but you will be part of an alumni that includes many successful professionals that you can have access to.

Broader perspectives

Another benefit of having a peer group is to be able to enrich your own experience. Which is why a diverse peer group is very important. Whether expertise, gender, nationality, or industry, the more diverse your peer group is the more value you will get out of it. Sharing ideas or issues with them and having them share their opinions, experiences, and perspectives allows for a well-rounded understanding of different situations. This will not only make you better in your professional life, but also in your personal life.

Support system

It’s common knowledge that you need a support system, whether in your personal life or professional. While you might not always need support, there will be instances where a great support system is the only thing that will pull you through. Even if your professional peer group hasn’t helped in the above ways (not yet, at least), it’s a valuable space to consult for ideas you might have or even career advice you might need. With any new venture or unforeseen hiccups, you can consult your peers to help you resolve what would otherwise have been a difficult situation for you to resolve alone.

Job opportunities

More often than not, you ask people you know to possibly put you in touch with someone who might offer you a job. A professional network gives you so many opportunities to do that. Not only could you ask them for help to find a job, but they might also be in a position to offer you a job themselves. An active network is a great place for a job hunt or even a referral. The possibilities are, quite literally, endless.

Having a reliable and extensive professional network is just as important as having knowledge and know-how. A great network can change the way you approach your career and push you forward to achieve great things. It’s wise to invest in your network as much as it is in your executive education.

Now that you know the importance of networking and how an executive education program is a great place to network, find out the 10 networking essentials that can help you on your professional journey.

FAQs

Q. How does your executive education prove to be a good business opportunity?

A. Aside from the curriculum itself, an executive education program is a great place to gain alumni that might also become potential partners, clients, or even investors.

Q. How does your executive education program network help enrich your experience?

A. With a broad network, a diverse peer group gives you broader perspectives and from their own experiences and therefore enriches your own experience.

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