Early career researchers are, by definition, at a stage in their careers where they need to manage uncertainty. You are likely to be on a fixed-term contract and the competition for academic positions is such that success can’t be guaranteed.

Although the statistics also show that the majority of ECRs ultimately move into many different roles, whilst you are immersed in academic research you might lack awareness about alternative career options. In the face of such uncertainty, you may feel unwilling to build a network around a long-term career goal, but this stops you from developing connections that will build and strengthen over time. Don’t hesitate to approach or connect with someone because of uncertainty. Approach people on the basis of your career vision – one day these connections may give you an advantage just at the point you need it.

This section looks at your long-term career goals and suggests how your network can help you achieve them. As was mentioned in the previous section, we need to have people in our networks who can provide us with opportunities that will help us to build a stronger profile and develop important skills and experience. In academia this might include chances to review papers or grants, to speak at conferences, visit other departments to give seminars or sit on committees.

These opportunities have always flowed through networks, but often in an opaque way that benefitted those who were on the radar of people who had them to pass on. This still happens, so as an early career researcher you need to be comfortable asking for these opportunities and to make clear to more senior people what your career aims are. The next section will look at how to use your existing achievements to demonstrate your skills and competence, but first you need to develop a clearer idea of where you see yourself and which stepping stones will help move you forwards.

>p>If you review your CV, particularly against job descriptions or promotion criteria, you will probably identify some areas of weakness. These could include leadership roles, publications, international profile or funding success. Some of these will be difficult to achieve as an early career researcher, but it is usually possible to demonstrate your potential through related activities.

These are all examples from early career researchers who have been helped through their networks.

If you aren’t certain about what is ahead on your preferred path, your network can also help you to develop your plan with more certainty. Start to connect with people who are ahead of you in their career path and ask them to explain how their roles and responsibilities have changed with time. Understanding what’s ahead will help you make better informed career decisions and develop your CV to reflect the skills that you’ll need in the longer term.

To help you consider how connections need to change over a career, take a look at some of the research career timelines that are available:

• http://www.postdoc-pathways.lifesci.dundee.ac.uk/
• http://www.youngacademyofscotland.org.uk/images/Documents/AcademicWomenNow2016FINAL.pdf
• https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/diversity-in-science/parent-carer-scientist/

These all relate to the academic path, but it is possible to see individual career paths thanks to social networking sites like LinkedIn.

A networking article on jobs.ac.uk draws parallels between the research skills you will be using everyday and those needed to be successful in career choice and job hunting. Many of the suggested methods for gathering information relate to networking:

• http://www.jobs.ac.uk/careers-advice/working-in-higher-education/1608/using-your-research-skills-to-succeed-in-the-job-market/

Before we move on, here’s a question to consider: 'Do I know what is likely to help me progress in my career?'

If you feel that you have a clear view of the experience and achievements that will help you to be successful, the next section looks at what your network needs to know about you in order to help you

Move onto Part 3: 'Barriers to networking'