Social capital was something Kola never knew about while he was still an undergraduate. Kola was from a very poor background, he was able to finish his tertiary education, only because he worked part-time as a factory worker at a textile factory. He would work periods when he didn’t have classes and sometimes through the weekends.

A lot of his classmates in school looked down their noses at him, they felt his status as a factory staff was too low class for them to relate with him. Kola was not deterred by their attitude. He graduated with flying colors.

Sometime after, he stumbled on an article on LinkedIn which talked about social capital, which is one of the factors any potentially successful person must pay attention to. From then on, Kola told himself he would build his social capital in every way he could.

On LinkedIn, he would write to movers and shakers in his industry, talking about his skills and how he could offer value to them. He also approached a potential mentor, who was offering courses on some relevant sub-themes in Kola’s industry. Kola paid for the courses and he later became a friend to his mentor, who made sure he introduced Kola to everyone he knew.

Soon after, Kola became a known face in his industry because of the people he knew who had seen his commitment to hard work and had a lot of value to offer anyone as he was focused on lifelong learning. On social media and off it, Kola became a force to be reckoned with and some of his former classmates, who used to snub him, now looked up to him for advice and direction in their careers.

Social capital is something everyone should leverage when it comes to career building. Social capital, is a factor Lingo Africa talks about all the time to our clientele – you must be ready to represent yourself properly at all times. You cannot be focused on building your social capital and look down on people, you should be approachable and you should be able to recognize opportunities and leverage them to promote your personal brand.

Another way to build your social capital is to keep applying for global opportunities under the African Union, United Nations, World Health Organization, World Economic Forum, and the like in terms of internships and fellowships. Those opportunities are great platforms for social capital on a global scale.

Source - https://lingoafrica.com/social-capital-is-your-network-of-relevant-professionals/

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