📣 Unit Introduction: Discovering Connections

What does community mean to you?

Have you ever:

• Worked meaningfully with a committee member?
• Had a great exchange with a colleague at a workshop?
• Heard about a job through a community contact?

This unit helps you recognize the skills, knowledge, and attitudes needed to build and sustain a professional network.

Unit Modules:

• Exploring My Community
• Connecting With Community
• Nurturing My Community

Why Focus on Community?

1. It leads to opportunities. In Canada, many jobs are filled through referrals and the hidden job market.
2. It advances your career. Staying connected keeps you current in your field.
3. It reframes networking. Networking doesn’t have to feel transactional—think of it as sharing, supporting, and connecting authentically.

If you haven’t completed the Professionalism and Communication module (in the Demonstrating Skills unit), we recommend doing so first for helpful context.

For Internal Processors or Shy Individuals:
Networking can feel overwhelming. But connecting one-on-one, sharing ideas, or helping someone can feel more natural and meaningful.

Key Message:
Building your community means engaging with intention and enthusiasm, while being mindful of your time and open to unexpected connections.

Watch This Video:

Want to Network Better? Follow These 5 Tips From Master Connectors (2:17)

This unit is organized around those 5 tips:

1. Play to your strengths
2. Be open
3. Ask good questions
4. Be helpful
5. Follow up

Though geared toward entrepreneurs, the tips are universal.

Reflective Activity:
Read Building a Network That Works Takes Work (Johnson, 2011). Create your own guiding principles for networking—draw from the video, the article, or your own values.

“The day that you plant the seed is not the day you eat the fruit.”
— Fabienne Fredrickson

Take the next step by proceeding to the next module: Exploring My Community