Networking
Management class this past week brought about the challenge of networking. Networking is talking to people you do not know, conveying a point, and being memorable. The end goal is handing the person a business card and hoping that knowing this person will be beneficial to you in the future.
After the experience, I feel torn. On one hand, I am disappointed. I do not think I did a very good job in class. I found it difficult to talk to people I did not know about trivial things. In fact, I would not refer any of the people I met to a possible job merely based upon the fact that I know they are from Kansas.
On the other hand, I do not think real life networking will be very much like the simulation. I feel it will be more one on one, just a couple people talking to one another about things they are both involved in and are interested in. These two people might meet through work, a conference, or wherever, but their goal will be to know the other person better, not just as a connection. I think, or to put it a better way, hope I will not be involved in situations such as the networking situation in class, something contrived simply for networking, not really for knowing the other person.
Maybe that is all a dream. Maybe, possibly, I will be put in those situations and go about it professionally and hand out some business cards to possible contacts. Maybe get a call some time about a job opening from someone I met through one of those events. Even better, maybe these networking events will put me in touch with someone I will turn into a person I know better than just through a business card. The after networking event dinner or drink will be where I find my real contacts.
Comments
Posted by: Tina
Posted on: September 23, 2006 03:59 PM
"The end goal is handing the person a business card and hoping that knowing this person will be beneficial to you in the future."
If you approach people this way, networking will certainly not work for you. No one want to feel used. You might consider turning that approach on its head. What can you do for the people you meet?
Food for thought.