Egonet: A BRIEF NETWORK ASSESSMENT

Step 1: Write down the names of people you rely on for information or problem solving related to your career development (APLP and non-APLP people). After completing Step 6, draw or map your network. Ideas: map people in different geographic regions, group them by organization/field, or show how people in your network are linked to each other.

1 2 3 4 5. 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Source: Adapted from Rob Cross and Andrew Parker, The Hidden Power of Social Networks
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Step 2: List the number of relationships that fall into each category for the major descriptors below. The total # of people in each box (Group, Effort, Hierarchy, etc) should equal the number of people in your list on Page 2
INTERACTION GROUP
# of people in my network # of people in my network

1 = once a year 2 = once a month

1 = within same core group (close friends, family) 2 = outside core group, within same social group, course or work unit 3 = outside of social group, course or work unit, within same organization, company or school/university 4 = outside organization, school or company

3 = once a week

4 = once a day

5 = more than 3 times a day

EFFORT
# of people in my network

PROXIMITY

# of people in my network

1 = 1 hour or less per month 2 = 2 3 hours per month 3 = 1 hour per week

1 = works, lives immediately next to me 2 = works, lives in a different organization in same city 3 = different city 4 = different country

4 = 2 3 hours per week 5 = 1 hour or more per day

Source: Adapted from Rob Cross and Andrew Parker, The Hidden Power of Social Networks
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Step 2, continued: List the number of relationships that fall into each category for the major descriptors below

TIME KNOWN

# of people in my network

PRIMARY MEDIUM
1 = unplanned, face-toface meetings 2 = planned face-toface meetings 3 = telephone

# of people in my network

1 = less than 1 year 2 = 1-3 years

3 = 3-5 years

4 = 5-10 years

4 = e-mail

5 = 10+ years

5 = instant messaging

HIERARCHY

# of people in my network

1 = Higher than yours 2 = equal to yours

3 = lower than yours

4 = not applicable

Source: Adapted from Rob Cross and Andrew Parker, The Hidden Power of Social Networks
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Step 3: Take a look at the composition of your network and identify biases that may affect aspects of your career. For example, do you have a tendency to go only to people who are accessible to you rather than to those who may have more relevant information? Note implications these biases have for you and actions you can take to resolve them.

BIAS
Example: I do not have many people at the same level in hierarchy than me. Instead I have people higher and lower than me.

IMPLICATION/ACTI ON
I need to join young professional groups in order to find peers that I can relate to in my career and personal life.

Source: Adapted from Rob Cross and Andrew Parker, The Hidden Power of Social Networks
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Step 4: Identify up to eight skills or types of expertise/information necessary for you to be successful in career development. Who in your network has the expertise/information you need for your career? List their names under each one.

EXPERTISE/INFORMATION YOU NEED FOR YOUR EDUCATION/CAREER 1

Example: Information about what it takes to become a professor. People: Professor Susan Chase

Source: Adapted from Rob Cross and Andrew Parker, The Hidden Power of Social Networks
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Step 5: Review the list of people under each expertise/information needed. Who did you list a lot? Who is not on that list? Were you able to list a person under each one? See if there are people you are overly dependent on or people you do not leverage sufficiently (or possibly leverage for the wrong kinds of tasks). Are there types of expertise you need to further develop but do not have a set of relationships to help on this front? Finally, note implications of the expertise/information gaps and over-dependencies. Indicate what actions you can take to resolve these issues.
EXPERTISE/INFORMATION GAP/OVERDEPENDENCY IMPLICATION/ACTI ON

Source: Adapted from Rob Cross and Andrew Parker, The Hidden Power of Social Networks
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Egonet on Career Development

YOU

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