Being able to to network and expand professional connections is absolutely essential for anyone who wants to progress through their career and land their dream career. To help you learn how to network like a pro, we have spent the time researching the best online courses on the topic. We have included both free and paid courses, that are suitable for everyone, to ensure that you can find a course best suited to you!
But before I tell you about the online courses, what exactly is “professional networking” and why should you have the skills to be able to do it confidently?
Networking is the ability to interact with others to exchange information and develop professional or social contacts. It’s about forming important connections with people in the same industry as you to help you progress through your career.
You should be able to network effectively because if you have the skills to expand your network and who you know, then you will have more opportunities to seek and land jobs!
In order to land your dream career, it’s often about who you know…. not what you know! To learn how to network professionally, you can take some online courses to teach you everything you need to know. Suitable for all levels, I have spent the time researching the best job searching tutorials out there. So, if you’re looking to progress and develop through your career, there will be an online course out there for you!
1. Networking Growth Hacks: Take You Career to the Next Level (Udemy)
- Level: Beginner
- Completion time: 3h 15m
- Cost: $79.99
- Certification: No
- Number of people who have completed the course: 13,111
- Course rating: 4.7/5 (out of 522 ratings)
Taught by three industry experts who collectively have over 1 million Udemy students, this course will teach you how to network like a boss. Each of the experts, Chris Haroun, Jimmy Naraine and Dragos Stefanescu, have a separate video lecture where they teach you about different networking skills. Once you’ve gone over these lectures, you also have bonus material which points you in a different direction.
After you’ve completed this course, you will have learnt proven strategies and techniques for becoming a master of communication and connection!
2. How to Build your Professional Network (Udemy)
- Level: All levels
- Completion time: 55m
- Cost: $79.99
- Certification: No
- Number of people who have completed the course: 11,906
- Course rating: 4.4/5 (out of 1,483 ratings)
This Udemy course is suitable for absolutely anyone who is interested in growing their network and meeting new people. In this short course, you will adopt the skills you need to build your first workplace relations and start your network!
Through a series of lessons, you will learn how to develop the right skills to be able to talk and interact with people so that you can raise your profile and take leadership roles! Once completed, you should have the skills to access more influential people and, therefore, have access to career tips and tricks!
3. Networking-To-Go: A Step-by-Step Guide to Grow Your Network (Skillshare)
- Level: Beginner
- Completion time: 1h 42m
- Cost: 14 day free trial
- Certification: No
- Number of people who have completed the course: 1,761
- Course rating: N/A
Designed for those looking to attend networking events, this course will help you to understand how to prepare for these events. You will take a look at what to specifically wear, 10 essential phrases that you should be using and 10 body language techniques. On top of this, you will also look at how to follow-up with your interactions, what questions to ask when you finally get to catch up with your follow up and where you should arrange to meet these people.
Even if you’re relatively shy and find you have a hard time talking about yourself, you should find that this guide gives you the confidence to network with others!
4. A Complete Guide to Building Your Network by Keith Ferrazzi (Udemy)
- Level: All levels
- Completion time: 3h 3m
- Cost: $109.99
- Certification: No
- Number of people who have completed the course: 6,314
- Course rating: 4.5/5 (out of 1,445 ratings)
Suitable for anyone who is just starting out in their professional lives and wants to learn how to have better professional relationships, you can gather very important skills in just over 3 hours!
You will be taught how to create a personal network by learning how to have the interactions you’ll need to achieve your goals. Through 72 different lectures, you will cover topics such as mind set, skill set, how to connect in the digital age and make it your life to learn how to network properly. On top of this, you will also learn how to give back and have balance.
5. How to Network When You Don’t Like Networking (LinkedIn Learning)
- Level: Beginner
- Completion time: Approx 18m
- Cost: 1-month free trial
- Certification: Yes
- Number of people who have completed the course: 55,024
- Course rating: N/A
For people who are shy, walking the room can seem intimidating. However, global speaker and bestselling author Devora Zack knows this and wants to give all the introverts (and extroverts) of the world alternatives!
You will learn tips to smoothly start, sustain and end conversations and advice for presenting yourself and easing any pre-networking jitters. Plus, you will also get practical advice on re-connecting after an event so that you can follow-up those meaningful connections and really get somewhere with your network!
6. Professional Networking (LinkedIn Learning)
- Level: All levels
- Completion time: Approx 26m
- Cost: 1-month free trial
- Certification: Yes
- Number of people who have completed the course: 188,159
- Course rating: N/A
Dorie Clark is a presidential campaign spokeswoman who, in this course, will show you strategies to connect with people that you actually like! She will help you identify the most important people in your network and prioritize who is most critical to your success.
On top of this, you will also learn which networking events are a valuable use of your time and how you could host one yourself if you really wanted to. After, you’ll also take a look a look at how to start conversations and use social media to network authentically.
7. The Art of Likability: Opening the Doors to Better Networking, Sales, Leadership & Management (Skillshare)
- Level: Beginner
- Completion time: 40m
- Cost: 14 day free trial
- Certification: No
- Number of people who have completed the course: 730
- Course rating: N/A
Course instructor Cal Hyslop believes that success does not simply depend on a person’s skill level, it is a great deal to do with how others feel about that person. He believes that being unlikeable can be harmful to one’s career… and he wants to teach you how to be likable!
In this course, you will learn the six principles of likability, namely: 1) becoming genuinely interested in others; 2) smiling; 3) learning a name; 4) the art of listening; 5) talking in terms of others’ interests; and 6) the power of importance.
At the end of the course, you will complete a hands-on class project that will teach you how to smile in a warm way that attracts others.
8) Business Fundamentals: Effective Networking (Future Learn)
- Level: Beginner
- Completion time: 3h for 4 weeks
- Cost: 14 day free trial
- Certification: Yes
- Number of people who have completed the course: 78,269
- Course rating: 4.3/5 (out of 18 ratings)
Taught by UK universities, this course will teach you how to improve your business networking skills so you can enhance your professional relationships and open up your career opportunities.
Over four weeks, you will cover the nature and benefits of networking, barriers to networking, frameworks for self-assessment and communicating professional strengths and interests, how to develop interpersonal skills, your fundamental of brand equity and monitoring, evaluating and planning for improving the mutual value of networking activity.
Conclusion
So, there you have it… the 8 best online courses that will teach you how to meet new professionals and expand your network like a professional! Being able to do these things will help you in your career development and will aid you in landing your dream job!
In the list above, there were free courses that take as little as an hour to complete, and there are more expensive courses that much longer to complete! However, all of these courses are the best of the best. Each is taught by an experienced and dedicated teacher, and they all have lots of satisfied and happy customers.
So, which course you decide take depends on your experience, funds and spare time. Do you have a huge amount of money to spend on your career development? Do you have a lot of spare time, or are you just looking for a quick, but effective, skill top up?
