Visibility Doesn’t Happen by Accident: Why Women Need to Be Seen

You can be brilliant at what you do, have years of experience and a strong track record and still find that other people seem to get more opportunities. It isn’t always because they are better at what they do. Often, more people simply know who they are and what they do.

For a long time, particularly for women, there has been an expectation that working hard and doing a good job should be enough. Of course those things are important, but relying on your work to speak for itself can only take you so far. People need to know about the work in the first place.

Visibility doesn’t mean becoming an influencer or feeling as though you have to talk about yourself constantly. It is about making sure enough people understand what you do, what you are good at and the kind of opportunities you are interested in.

There are lots of ways to do that. Social media is one of them, but it is only one. Speaking at events, entering awards, contributing to conversations in your industry, making introductions and meeting new people can all help. Sometimes it is as simple as telling someone what you are working on rather than assuming they already know.

Networking can play a huge part in building a career or business, but we sometimes make it more complicated than it needs to be. Going to an event expecting to walk out with a new client or a big opportunity misses much of the point. Every new person you meet expands the number of people who know you and the number of people you know. Over time, those relationships can lead to all sorts of things.

Someone you meet today might become a client in two years. They might introduce you to somebody next week, invite you to speak at an event or recommend you when somebody asks if they know a person who does what you do. You might be able to do exactly the same for them.

This is also why following up matters. There is not much value in meeting 50 people at an event if you never speak to any of them again. The best networks are built through staying in touch, helping people where you can and giving relationships time to develop.

When we started City Ladies Networking in 2020, we wanted to create events that women would enjoy attending and would get something useful from. We didn’t want networking to feel formal, transactional or like everyone was waiting for their turn to deliver a sales pitch.

The format has always been simple. We bring women together, usually with a brilliant speaker, give them the opportunity to learn something and make sure there is plenty of time to talk to each other.

What started in Newcastle has since grown, with City Ladies events also taking place in London, Paris and Nice. Along the way we have seen women find clients, create collaborations, make introductions, share opportunities and build friendships through people they first met at one of our events.

For us, that is what good networking should do. It isn’t about collecting as many contacts as possible. It is about building a network of people who know who you are, understand what you do and are more likely to think of you when something relevant comes up. It should work both ways too. A strong network gives you more opportunities to help and recommend other people.

One of the biggest mistakes people make with visibility is thinking they suddenly need to be everywhere. They start posting every day, signing up for every event and saying yes to anything that might get their name out there. It is difficult to sustain and it isn’t necessary.

It is much more useful to think about who you want to know you and where you are most likely to meet them. That could mean being more active on LinkedIn, attending a handful of relevant events, putting yourself forward to speak or simply being better at talking about what you do when you meet people.

The aim isn’t for everybody to know your name. It is for more of the people who could make a difference to your business or career to know who you are and what you do.

Your experience and ability still have to back that up, of course. Visibility isn’t a substitute for being good at what you do. It just makes it far more likely that people will know you are good at it.

About City Ladies Networking

City Ladies is a networking community bringing women together to build relationships, share ideas and create opportunities. Founded in Newcastle in 2020 by Sophie Milliken and Natalie Turner, City Ladies now hosts events in Newcastle, London and internationally, including Paris and Nice.

Our events combine interesting speakers with relaxed, informal networking, creating opportunities for women from different industries, roles and stages of their careers to meet and learn from each other.

To find out more about City Ladies and upcoming events, visit https://www.cityladiesnetworking.com or follow us on LinkedIn.