By: Amanda Kennedy

I like to consider volunteering unintentional networking.

When I started my career at Origin (formerly IIW) almost 15 years ago I was one of the youngest staff members at the time. I wasn’t sure how I would build relationships with my co-workers due to my age gap, or how to expand my network and connections externally. Not many of my friends were working in the A/E industry. In fact, none of them were.

Being an outgoing person who loves to be surrounded by people, how would I meet like-minded individuals who I could also network with on a professional level? We didn’t have as many organizations to join then as we do now and promoting them on social media wasn’t really a “thing” yet.

It didn’t take me long to see a pattern, though. In 2009 I had my first daughter and in 2011 my second daughter. As the girls entered the pre-k stage, I attended a round-up event at school. At that event I heard a “welcome speech” from the PTA President. As I sat in the bleachers, I knew that was going to be me standing up there some day giving that same speech.

Low and behold I joined the PTA group where my daughters attended school. The next year I was voted in as President of the PTA Board. I got to meet so many new names and faces that year. From the teachers at school, to the principal, the other PTA volunteers, and the parents of kiddos – these were the people I would start building relationships with. Unintentionally.

I went to these meetings to provide input as a parent that I hoped would make a difference or provide value (which I did), but it became customary for me to strike up a conversation with the other attendees after the meeting in the hallway or parking lot. If I saw a parent wearing their company branded shirt, I would ask if they worked there or what their company did.

Simple things like awareness of where someone works can help drive a conversation or make a connection to someone you know that works there. Those “hallway conversations” helped me get to know them and turned into me recognizing them in the grocery store or coffee shop and waving and saying “hi” and then catching up.

As those relationships built over the years, I found it turned into more connections with people they networked with. It’s easy if you’re out and about and see that individual with a friend for them to introduce you and tell the other individual how they know you. It’s amazing how your name can circulate through mutual connections and where that can take you, especially if you are passionate about what it is you do. That has led me to be invited to join other organizations and boards, which of course meant…I made more connections (see the pattern).

My initial goal years ago was to expand my professional network, but never did I imagine I would achieve that through volunteering. That’s the really cool thing about it, too. You are volunteering your time and talent to make a difference, to better the lives of those in your community, but it pays off twofold. The July YP speaker, Gary Dolphin, mentioned similar sentiments when he said that sometimes those connections can bring business opportunities your way, ones that were possibly unattainable before. That isn’t the motive behind volunteering itself as he mentioned, but that is sometimes how it works out. The relationships you build sometimes send opportunities your way, plain and simple. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it’s easy-peasy. Volunteering does require time and effort, which means you may need to make personal sacrifices at times to follow through with any commitments you make. I will say it’s worth it, though. There’s something powerful in feeling like you have made a positive impact or a difference. It fuels you and motivates you.

Volunteerism is what makes our community thrive and such a wonderful place to live, work, and play in. I strongly encourage you to take a look at a few organizations that align with your values or that share a similar passion of yours and see what commitment it would be to join one of them. I will leave you with this thought - Some of the most valuable networking you do will be outside of your office walls and off the clock.