networking. the single most important thing to do in business.
benefits of networking:
finding:
- customers
- clients
- partners
- employees
- manufacturers
- investors
- babysitters
- internships
- jobs
- opportunities
- a wife/husband
...and the list goes on.
bottom line is that networking is the way you meet people. whether you're at the campus cafeteria and you meet a friend through another friend, or you're at one of those Kogod sponsored networking receptions....the person you meet in Terrace Dining Room may be more, less, or un-important as the big business man you met at the reception. personally, i feel that there is no harm in meeting people and from everybody you meet, chances are that you'll grasp or think about at least one thing they did or said...or get one internship, or meet one person they know which will change your life in some way.
as far back as I can remember....every job i've ever had was because of a connection i've made, most times, somebody i knew who knew somebody else passed my resume along...or somebody my parents knew had some tie to something.
"It's not what you know, but who you know." (Don't know who said that..its just a cliche, but a true one at that.)
story time:
so remember that flight i was on last week from Madrid to JFK? yea--the one that caught on fire. well, i was sitting next to women who was an IT major at University of Michigan and now works for Nokia in the technology department. She basically talks to third party vendors and finds software for nokia to use with their phones....well yea, we schmoozed. And I got her card and emailed her and....lets hope I have an internship with Nokia next summer!
(no bull)
to conclude my argument on the importance of making connections and networking.....no matter who is or where you are, we all have something to gain from one and other, whether it be one of those things i listed in the beginning...or even finding out something you don't want to do or somewhere you don't want to work. I interned last fall at Simon Property Group in Arlington, VA....and though the stuff they had me doing was tedious (I was a marketing specialization at the time)....the internship was successful. It was successful because I was able to realize what i didn't want to do...marketing. therefore, even if what you get from meeting somebody is not a positive experience, chances are you'll benefit in some way.
linked here is an article I found which is relevant to my discussion and this week's reading entitled "It's Not What You Know, It's Who You Know: Work in The Information Age"
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3 comments:
i agree that connections are one of the most aspects of personal and professional growth. but when transformed to the online sphere, the question is the degree/strength of the connections? online networks certainly make it easier to manage/establish connections, but are they less personal than a face-to-face connection? this is all very hypothetical of course..
I also agree with your opinion. Since I came here, I have experienced what I could not have done in Japan with cpnnections. These connections come from such as my father's (his friends) and my home university's alumni at Washington D.C.
Face to face connection is more trustful than virtual one in my opinion. Therefore face to face connection gives more benefitial opportunities than virtual one. Now I conntact some staffs at several companies about my job huntting. But I realize now that ,until I meet them face to face to make connection trustful, everything will not work out. Those are my experiences so far.
I agree wtih you that the most important thing is the human relationship at the end. Knowledge is great but I am starting to realize that like in your case of talking with Nokia employee, knowing poeople would not harm you but only benefit you. Great example!
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