Highly Effective Networking: Jimmy Wong Of AI Jimmy On 5 Strategies for Successful Networking, Both Online and Offline
An Interview With Athalia Monae
Don’t expect anything in return. Be open to meeting people for who they are. Be genuine in offering support without expecting anything in return. Whether there’s a big or small future opportunity for future collaboration, still genuinely value the relationship for itself. The value of a true relationship is in the unseen future potential, not in the immediate transaction. I like to remember the “It’s a Wonderful Life” movie with Jimmy Stewart, where the network of townspeople unexpectedly bailed out the main character’s financial troubles.
The art of networking is pivotal in today’s interconnected world. Establishing meaningful connections can accelerate career growth, foster collaborations, and create opportunities that might otherwise remain hidden. Yet, the dynamics of networking are intricate, often requiring a nuanced blend of authenticity, strategy, and adaptability. And with the digital revolution, networking has transcended beyond face-to-face interactions to virtual platforms, expanding its scope and complexity. In this series, we would like to discuss the art and science behind effective networking. We are talking to seasoned professionals, career coaches, networking experts, and thought leaders who’ve mastered both traditional and online networking techniques. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Jimmy Wong.
Jimmy Wong is a data science leader with over 27 years of experience in the industry. For 12 of those years, Jimmy has led data science teams at LinkedIn, where he was recognized with both a Leadership Award and a Motivational Champion Award. As a graduate of UCLA and Stanford, he has stayed active in the community by teaching at an industry seminar at the UCLA Anderson School of Management for 5 years, by mentoring other professionals, and by volunteering. His mission now is focused on enabling individuals and small businesses to grow and thrive in the new world of AI.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive into our discussion about networking, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?
Thank you inviting me to this fantastic opportunity to share with your audience!
For the last the last 12 years I had been leading data science teams at the LinkedIn company based in the Silicon Valley in California. Here’s my story of how I went from being an aerospace engineering student to leading data science teams at the biggest professional social networking company and what’s next.
As an engineering student at UCLA, I found that I enjoyed organizing and leading groups. Although I appreciated the satisfaction of designing and building things, I also realized early on the importance of people skills within organizations. As leader of our engineering club, I found that I was able to motivate members to enter and win regional engineering competitions. This turnaround helped the university as well as the students to gain more industry recognition. UCLA awarded me the MANE Department Award for Student Welfare in recognition of my contributions to the school.
Since I had loved aerospace and robotics and computers, I was fortunate that my first job after graduating from college combined all three! In an aerospace company, I was the engineer responsible for programming the robots used to build the electronic products. However, since I wanted to grow more business skills for my career path, I went on to graduate school.
Although I didn’t do an MBA program, my hybrid engineering graduate program at Stanford University combined the technical rigors of mechatronics (e.g. designing robots and smart products) with business school classes like entrepreneurship, accounting, and organizational behavior (e.g. “office politics”). I loved the breadth of that program and hope to share more with folks in the future about how the non-technical skills helped my engineering career.
After Stanford, I worked for 15 years at the Trimble company, which was known for high-tech GPS products for commercial use. In the different roles there, I learned about the value of data for all sorts of business functions. I became the manager for the data warehouse and business intelligence team.
I then joined the LinkedIn company as a senior manager of data science (previously business analytics). The teams that I led covered all the monetization efforts of the LinkedIn social media platform, including ads, premium subscriptions, recruiter products, and the LinkedIn Learning online platform. Besides getting experience in industry-leading data science and AI systems, I also learned much about the value and strategies of professional networking as a LinkedIn employee in my 12 years there.
I voluntarily resigned from my role at LinkedIn in 2023. My new personal mission now is to help people and small businesses to adapt and transition into the new world of AI. I plan to apply all that I have learned from my experiences at LinkedIn, my experiences with technology and business, and my experiences helping people grow and pivot in their careers. In my new role, I’m starting off as a coach and advisor and instructor, while also scaling up to help more people via writing, publishing, and developing products.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
Since we’re on the topic of networking, I’ll share a quick interesting story. My previous company was generous in providing free breakfast to employees. One day, I walked into the cafeteria and saw a vice-president eating alone at a small high-top table with an open seat. Other employees gave him space, but I took the opportunity to sit down with him and chat with him. Being in a large company, we previously didn’t personally know each other. However, he didn’t seem to mind my intrusion and we had a pleasant chat. He later went on to become a C-level executive for the company. I appreciate the company and its culture for making these types of relationship-building opportunities available for employees.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
I believe each of us has unique strengths that we can offer to the world. Each strength is valuable in its own way. A few years ago, I took the CliftonStrengths assessment test for a more objective evaluation of my strengths. I’ll share three of my top five CliftonStrengths talents.
- Learner: I love to learn. I even got recognized as a “Super Learner” from my company for 3 years in a row for being among the top employees who logged the most time on LinkedIn Learning courses. To squeeze in more learning, I would often listen to the business and leadership online learning courses at 2x speed while doing household chores or exercising. I believe retaining a growth mindset for continuous learning and experimentation has helped me to grow in my career and stay agile to changes.
- Achiever: I’m goal-oriented to achieve results. I can focus for long periods of time on specific tasks when the end goal is clear. Some people may call it grit and perseverance. For example, when I was leading a local Toastmasters club, I had a goal to inspire others while gaining public speaking and leadership skills. Through the grind of countless hours of practice and feedback, I eventually won first place in our area-level international speech contest. We got good visibility for the organization and me when we shared the achievement on LinkedIn. I attribute my abilities to focus, stay patient, and endure to have helped me to achieve goals.
- Individualization: I appreciate the differences in each person. I have a knack for tapping into the unique strengths and valuable experiences of different people for better teamwork. As a result, I’ve been known for my ability to bring different groups together for collaboration. In one of these recent collaborative team projects, we got invited to a private meeting with the company’s executives to share our win with them. When I see different people and groups, I see their different strengths and the unique value they bring to the world.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Let’s begin with a basic definition so that we are all on the same page. How exactly do you define “Networking?” Is it just about meeting new people?
Networking is so much more than just meeting new people.
I would define networking as building mutually beneficial relationships. Did you know that giant sequoia trees build a network of connected roots that help each tree to grow tall and stay up through fierce storms and other disasters? Similarly, the relationships that we build with each other enable us to get more opportunities to grow in our careers and weather the storms in life.
Beyond making connections, successful networking is also about nurturing trust.
At my previous LinkedIn company, we studied how members benefited from their trusted 1st-degree professional network. Internally, our employees also lived out “relationships matter” as a key value. Whether within or outside companies, I’ve seen people who trust each other will more likely help each other with information, opportunities, and collaborations.
Networking involves both connecting and building trust with people for mutual benefit.
In today’s digital age, how important is face-to-face networking, and how do you balance it with online networking?
Face-to-face networking can provide richer ways than online networking to build trust through interactions.
Many of these interactions involve non-verbal communications and visual cues in real life. For example, at an in-person coffee chat or lunch, I get additional cues about people by seeing how someone interacts with the cafe staff or splits the bill. These additional cues are impossible to get via a video call.
For an introductory meeting, I would almost always want to meet in person when it’s practical. However, a video call can still go a long way toward strengthening the relationship when an in-person meeting is infeasible. Other online networking channels, such as social media direct messages and emails, can be suitable for easily maintaining established relationships, but they usually can’t deepen the relationships.
How do you maintain and nurture professional relationships over time, both in person and online, to ensure they remain fruitful and mutually beneficial?
For routine interactions to keep relationships warm, I would still use online networking like direct messages and email. I’ve set my calendar to remind myself:
- Weekly each Friday to reach out to sets of new and existing contacts, including giving birthday greetings as listed on LinkedIn.
- Quarterly to review the names in my contact lists so that I don’t forget them, which could be embarrassing when seeing them randomly at a conference or out in the street.
- November to send direct messages on LinkedIn to people for annual pre-holiday greetings.
With people whom I feel comfortable with strengthening the relationships, I do periodically reach out to them to offer in-person meetings. I enjoy meetings for coffee, for lunch, and even for tennis or pickleball.
Similarly, I value the people who proactively reach out to me periodically to reconnect. I especially appreciate folks who take the time to meet up when there’s no immediate agenda other than refreshing the relationship itself. The best networkers also appear to genuinely want to do something beneficial for the other person, rather than request something. I end up being a loyal fan of the person for the future, and hopefully it’s true the other direction too. The power of building trust in networking is amazing.
Not everyone responds the same way to networking though. With my unresponsive acquaintances, I assume that they’re either too busy for the relationship or don’t value it. In either case, I don’t expect much from that relationship, even if it was a former close coworker with a lot of previous interactions. In our shared LinkedIn message history, my last message to them would remain positive and encouraging for whenever the person would look at it again. However, I won’t expect much from this relationship, which frees up time for other professional relationships instead.
How important is personal branding when it comes to successful networking, and how can individuals develop and maintain a strong personal brand both online and in person?
Personal brand is integral to the networking process. They both require building and earning trust from others. Your personal brand and your networking efforts reinforce each other.
I consider a person’s personal brand to have two parts: 1) what you say about yourself, and 2) what others say about you. What you say about yourself should come from your unique value proposition, which is your promise to the world in how you specifically will help people. On the other hand, what others say about you comes from your reputation. When people see you deliver on your promises consistently, then your reputation improves. This reputation aspect moves a person’s personal brand beyond hype to create goodwill. This goodwill helps people to trust you when connecting and networking.
To develop and maintain a strong personal brand, I advise people to be visible consistently and to engage consistently in order to be remembered consistently.
When online, these are some things I do to be visible and to engage consistently that you can do too:
- Apply best practices for LinkedIn profiles: add a professional headshot photo, a distinct headline, and an audience-focused About summary.
- Update your other online presences: update alumni directories, professional association profiles, personal blog, and other social media
- Within your company: customize your profile in internal systems including email, Zoom, Slack, your intranet, HR systems, and elsewhere.
- Be helpful online: whether on social media, or internally in your company through Slack and Zoom and Slido, try to be the first to chime in with helpful and encouraging comments or thoughtful questions. Beyond responding to others, consider blogging to establish thought leadership to apply the 90–9–1 rule to your advantage.
When in person, these are some things I do to be visible and to engage consistently that you can do too:
- Engage in large events: Be a speaker or host if possible. If you’re not the speaker, then sit near the front and try to be the first to raise your hand or step up to the mic to ask a thoughtful question.
- Engage in meetings: Sit strategically at the conference room table to stay engaged and visible. Also, step up to volunteer to write notes on the whiteboard to get even more visibility, even if you’re not the one hosting the meeting.
- Add buffer time for networking: Plan extra time immediately before and after in-person group meetings to engage with people individually.
When people see you either online or in person, and start recognizing your name and face as someone who is positive and helpful, then they will naturally gravitate toward you. With the increased trust from familiarity, it becomes easier to establish connections with people afterwards for follow-up networking.
What is your advice for young professionals who are just starting to build their network? How can they effectively reach out to and connect with experienced leaders in their field?
I think the best way for young professionals to broaden their network is through their school’s alumni mentoring programs.
I’m participating now as a mentor in my college alumni mentoring programs, but I wish I had taken advantage of them earlier when I was in college and starting my career. Seasoned alumni mentors love to volunteer to share their experiences with those entering the field from their alma mater.
The mentoring programs might officially limit the number of mentors that each mentee can connect with and the duration of the mentoring relationships. However, the mentee and mentor can still choose to stay in touch unofficially in the future. The mentoring programs help with the initial mentor introduction, and then it’s up to the mentee to make the most of it by scheduling follow-up meetings and even requesting additional introductions to the mentor’s industry network.
For young professionals who don’t have access to an alumni network, they can reach out to potential mentors through their companies, former coworkers, professional industry groups, and other communities including from their parents’ networks, religious groups, and other affiliations.
I suggest people reach out to new contacts either through these affiliations or through mutual connections, rather than cold calling business leaders as a total stranger.
Although it may still be possible for folks to build up relationships with random business leaders from scratch, it would take extra time and effort to warm up the relationships first.
Instead, start networking from the communities that you’re already part of, and then extend your network from there.
Do you prioritize quality or quantity of connections? How do you determine when to invest more time in a particular relationship?
I think both quality and quantity of relationships are important for different purposes. However, quality connections would be the most meaningful according to research studies and my personal experiences.
The academic research paper “Networking via LinkedIn: An examination of usage and career benefits” by Davis et al (2020) hinted that LinkedIn members can get more career benefits from engaging with their existing connections than from just having a large number of connections. Hence, it’s important to prioritize engagement with existing connections.
Dunbar’s Number supposedly limits the number of meaningful connections each person can mentally track and maintain to be about 150 people. Beyond that limit, any additional acquaintances would not be as familiar. Hence, it’s important to prioritize which connections we can reasonably maintain.
For me on LinkedIn, I find it’s not feasible to invest time equally to each of my 500+ 1st-degree connections. Consciously or not, I would need to prioritize which handful of relationships to invest in.
On LinkedIn, I’m open to connecting with anyone whom I’ve either met at least once or have had some sort of previous meaningful interaction, such as in an online community. If I don’t know the new person well, then I offer an introductory meeting for us. If the other person isn’t interested in an introductory meeting, then that clues me in that the person is not interested in building a more meaningful professional relationship with me. I can then prioritize this connection accordingly.
The different types of connections end up sorting themselves out. For connections who value networking and relationships, I’m motivated to put in more effort too, resulting in more future collaborations. For others, my natural tendency would be to keep the relationship warm with less effort. In any case, I’m open to connecting with new people for the possibility that the relationship can be mutually beneficial in the future.
What are your “5 Strategies for Successful Networking, Both Online and Offline”?
1. Don’t expect anything in return. Be open to meeting people for who they are. Be genuine in offering support without expecting anything in return. Whether there’s a big or small future opportunity for future collaboration, still genuinely value the relationship for itself. The value of a true relationship is in the unseen future potential, not in the immediate transaction. I like to remember the “It’s a Wonderful Life” movie with Jimmy Stewart, where the network of townspeople unexpectedly bailed out the main character’s financial troubles.
2. Research on LinkedIn before going to big events. Before a large party at my company to welcome 200 new employees from an acquired startup, I had prepared by browsing through the LinkedIn profiles of the startup employees. I noticed that one of the product managers seemed to have attended the same high school as me. Fortunately, when I arrived at the big welcome party, instead of meeting random people, the first person that I met there was this product manager whom I had several things in common. He introduced me to others from the startup, with whom I developed very positive professional relationships with over the next few years. I’m glad I prepared in advance by using LinkedIn before going to this event as it helped me with more productive networking and building of professional relationships.
3. Take a photo when meeting people in person. People like photos as they are generally associated with happy times. If I meet someone for a coffee chat or lunch, I almost always ask permission to take a selfie with the other person or people. I share the photo with them afterwards when I send the follow-up thank you message. If appropriate, I occasionally share these photos on social media too after getting proper permissions, which can elevate the perceived value of the meeting. In this age of virtual meetings, celebrate the special in-person meetings.
4. Touch base with your professional contacts at least once per year. At minimum, try to nurture professional relationships with at least one direct message each year to keep the relationship warm. I’ve found that mid-November is the best time to remember and message people in the US, as people are generally in a positive pre-holiday spirit, while it’s still before the end-of-year busy period. I see that LinkedIn also has a feature to make birthday greetings easy to send to people who opt-in to it. A few simple positive words from you cost nothing while giving a lot of value to the recipient to keep the relationship warm. You can stand out as even this simple act is not often done by others.
5. Be part of a community. It’s much easier to network with people whom already have a common affiliation with you, as in your various communities. Besides work colleagues, also consider your other affiliations like professional groups, alumni groups, and religious and cultural groups. I’ve found that through actively volunteering and even leading within these groups, my ability to meet new people and extend my network vastly improves. For example, I’ve enjoyed networking in Toastmasters, neighborhood groups with other parents, and college mentoring programs. It’s not enough to simply be listed in a community directory, but take the extra step to reach out and actively meet people in your community networks.
What role does diversity and inclusion play in your networking approach? How do you ensure that your network is inclusive and represents a broad range of perspectives and backgrounds?
I remember LinkedIn had researched that people with more diverse networks had wider access to career opportunities. For me, when I volunteer in different groups, I’ve met different folks ranging from college-aged students to even someone who was 82 years old. I appreciate the different perspectives that different people offer. I believe volunteering is one easy way to extend connections into a more diverse network.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Most of us have seen the recent remarkable rise in Artificial Intelligence capabilities. People are both hopeful and anxious about what AI might mean to their careers, business, and livelihood. I left my role as a data science leader at LinkedIn to now focus on helping people to navigate into the future with AI. I welcome people to partner with me on ways to help everyone to thrive in the new age of AI.
How can our readers further follow you online?
People can find me online on my website, LinkedIn, Medium, and Threads!
Thank you for the time you spent sharing these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
It was my pleasure. Thank you for including me for your audience!
About the Interviewer: Athalia Monae is a product creator, published author, entrepreneur, advocate for Feed Our Starving Children, contributing writer for Entrepreneur Media, and founder of Pouches By Alahta.
Highly Effective Networking: Jimmy Wong Of AI Jimmy On 5 Strategies for Successful Networking, Both… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.