4 Steps to Turn Your Research Fieldwork Skills into Networking Success

In a recent post, I talked about how to take the “ick” out of networking by reframing it as genuine relationship building. But let’s be honest: even when you know why you should network, the actual process of reaching out to professionals can still trigger a lot of anxiety.

It is incredibly easy to view networking as a transactional exercise where you have to "sell yourself" to strangers just to ask for a job.

I completely understand this dread because I used to hate networking, especially when I viewed it and practiced it as a transactional exercise. However, once I started approaching it as relationship-building, everything changed. Once I removed the expectation that I needed to walk away from meeting with a job prospect and instead focused on getting to know the person, I realized I found it..., dare I say, fun. As I started meeting with a variety of people and asking them questions about their career paths, their day-to-day job responsibilities, and observations about their industry, I would get lost in their stories and insights. Then, it occurred to me why this felt different. In my own work as a qualitative researcher, I genuinely enjoyed interviewing research subjects, and I realized I was leaning on those exact skills during these discussions. I have always appreciated it when people were willing to open up their lives to me and answer my questions. Once I realized I could carry this exact same curiosity from my field research into my networking, I actually ended up loving the process!

As a researcher, you can also lean on your own natural curiosity and research skills to effectively--and enjoyably--expand your network. If you view it as fieldwork and data collection, what originally felt awkward and stiff instead can feel familiar and organic.

First, What Exactly is Fieldwork?

If your background is primarily in areas such as quantitative research, theory, or archival content analysis, you might not have engaged in it before. Fieldwork is simply the process of gathering primary, on-the-ground data by directly observing and interacting with people in their natural environments.

When researchers enter a new field site, they don't just make wild assumptions. They identify key informants, conduct interviews, ask questions, and synthesize complex narratives to uncover overarching patterns. Exploring new career paths involves the same process.

When you sit down for a networking conversation, you are not looking to be offered a job. You are gathering qualitative data about the professional landscape. You are trying to understand the culture of an organization and/or an industry, the daily realities of a specific role, and what skills are genuinely valued in that space.

4 Actionable Steps to Conduct Your Research

Here is how to map academic fieldwork skills directly onto your networking strategy:

1. Identify Your Subjects (or Key Informants) Start by brainstorming your indirect ties, such as college alumni, friends, family, colleagues, and people you’ve heard speak at panels or community events. Look for subjects who work in roles, sectors, or organizational cultures you are curious about to serve as your primary data sources. (If you don't directly know of any people in the areas you are targeting, that doesn't mean you're out of luck. Let people in your network know the type of people you are trying to connect to. Chances are, they can connect you to someone they know who you can connect with.)

2. Conduct Informational Interviews (or Data Gathering) Reach out to 2 or 3 of these contacts for a short, 20- to 30-minute conversation. Keep your outreach simple and research-focused. For example: "I remember you mentioned working with [organization]—I’d love to hear a little more about your experience there as I am exploring new career directions."

3. Practice Low-Engagement Networking Research isn't always direct interviews; sometimes it is just observation and maintaining a presence in the community. Make it a goal to do low-engagement networking at least 2 to 4 times a month by commenting, sharing, or following up with connections to maintain the ties you already have.

4. Track Your Findings (and Be Consistent) Just as you would track your research data, track your networking progress. Set a schedule to reach out to new and existing contacts each month. After your conversations, take notes: What new insights did you gather from the data? What new variables or questions emerged? How are your goals evolving based on this new information?

The irony is that the skills that made you a good researcher — patience, curiosity, comfort with ambiguity — are exactly what make transactional networkers so exhausting to talk to. You're already better at this than you think.

© 2026 Marya T. Mtshali. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission from the author.

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