Solo Session: Networking in PhD: The Most Valuable Skill

Students and Graduates!

Networking can feel like a mysterious academic superpower: everyone tells you to do it during your PhD, but nobody explains how to do it without feeling awkward, uncomfortable and time-consuming. In this late-night talk, we unpack why networking is one of the most valuable skills you can build throughout and after your PhD, through three PVP insights.
—> Purpose

—> Value

—> Patience

Thank you all for tuning in, it has been a pleasure!

Bibliography

Bozward. D. (2025, September 24). Networking for PhDs: Building connections inside and outside academia. Dr David Bozward. https://david.bozward.com/2024/11/networking-for-phds-building-connections-inside-and-outside-academia/

Cao. V. (2020, September 13). PhDs’ greatest weakness: not networking. Free the PhD. https://www.freethephd.com/2020/08/20/phds-greatest-weakness-not-networking/

Childs. K. (2024, November 4). Researcher Development University of Glasgow.  Building your academic network: Why it’s never too early to start (Katharine Childs) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf2TVQ65w0c

Moser. T. (2025, July 15). Why Networking Matters: A Comprehensive Guide for PhD Success. alchemist-tribune.academicrenegade.news. https://alchemist-tribune.academicrenegade.news/article/why-networking-matters-a-comprehensive-guide-for-phd-success

Nagy, H. (2026, March 23). PhD networking. career-advice.jobs.ac.uk. https://career-advice.jobs.ac.uk/phd-studentship/phd-networking/

Transcript

Welcome To PhD Lounge

SPEAKER_00 0:06

Hello students and graduates, welcome to PhD Lounge, the podcast of late-night talks in which PhDs have a drink and talk about their research topics. Networking, the galactical keyword that you hear all the time during your PhD. Whether it's your supervisors or PhD peers, this word eventually comes up during a supervision meeting or a student gathering. Networking is a skill you become aware of when there is an opportunity to build connections with like-minded people. These people you meet can help you to achieve your goals while you also help theirs. In the context of a PhD, networking is the key to fostering authentic connections and relationships with your supervisors, peers, your department, alumni, academics, and industry employers anywhere. This can be local, national and international, online and in person, and during formal or informal events. It's a strategic skill of who you will connect with and make contributions, bringing long-term benefits such as friendships, employment opportunities, and tacit knowledge. Realistically, networking is hard to harness throughout your PhD because it requires time, effort and rejections, but it is probably the most valuable skill any PhD can hone at. After having great talks with some of my guests at PhD Lounge about networking, I share with you three insights about the power of developing this incredible skill throughout and after your PhD. 1. Purpose When attending formal or informal networking events, regardless of their size, having a purpose of why am I doing this is essential. Networking randomly without having a clear purpose of making contacts with people within your PhD field will lead to poor experiences. Instead, try to leverage your PhD as a way to show interest in talking with and learning new knowledge from people who are related to your expertise. This will help you to build relationships that will eventually create an opportunity to land a job. 2. Value. This means that you must put yourself to work into talking with people within or related to your field to create valuable interactions and relationships. Obviously, you're meeting new environments you hadn't met before, and so it can be quite an arduous challenge to cultivate that value. To build it up, I recommend strategically to attend networking events and meet new people who may offer valuable insights while you showcase your expertise. It feels like a trading process, but we're human beings after all. And three, patience. Besides purpose and value, networking requires patience. We always say that patience is a virtue. However, that virtue encourages you to actively maintain your report with who you speak with. When exchanging contacts during a conference, for example, it's great to follow up with any updates with anyone you had networked with. Just be patient with them and yourself. Networking a PhD is about building relationships that have purpose, value, patience, and any other meaningful trait a PhD can develop. Honestly speaking, many of us with PhDs want to land their dream jobs through networking, and that's a fair point. However, they take time, and by developing these core skills strategically, you will eventually have opportunities that come your way. And you can also be generous to them by sharing opportunities for them to thrive. Thank you all for tuning in. It has been a pleasure.