Archives for the Month of September 2006 on Asta Gerbec's MGMT 250 Journal
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.
The Interviewing Process
The Management 250 grading contract was an approach to class work I had not seen in the past. I have chosen two assignments that are clearly within my comfort zone, keeping an online blog and analyzing a case study. My third choice is the mock interview assignment. This is the kink in my Management 250 armor. The thought of going in front of a recruiter makes me very anxious. I imagine my feelings are similar to someone to going to court and being judged.
I have difficulty understanding how recruiting for a job actually works. Of course there are the clearly undesirable or unqualified candidates that will be gleaned immediately, based solely on their resume. But once the interviews begin, clear cut objectivity is lost. If an interviewer has several very qualified candidates for one place in the company, how does he or she choose? All of the candidates have similar experience in the field, especially if they are all interviewing right out of college, which is the position I will be in three years from now. Will it be the color of my shirt that sets me apart? Will the crease in my resume lose me the job?
The interviewing process is something I have very little control over. Even if I answer every question completely and politely, wear a clean suit, and have a reviewed resume in hand, I may not get the job.
Maybe, in fact probably, I am looking at the job interviewing process the wrong way. It is an opportunity not only for the company, but for the potential employee, to see whether he or she will fit into the position. After searching for interview tips online I found a site provided by Monster that addresses these same issues. You can see it here. If you are having these same concerns take a look.