Last week I was in Boston, at the European Career Fair. Since my dream internship did not materialize, I thought it a good idea to explore more options at European companies. So on a freezing Saturday I was sitting at MIT and chatting with Fabio, a classmate, and Denise, of our Career development center when Fabio said ‘Oh, Irene is a great networker’. At which I replied “Yes, put me in Antarctica, and I’ll network with the penguins…’. The truth is that after months of networking, company briefings, resumes, cover letters, online applications, job treks, interviews and thank you notes, I don’t have an internship yet. Yes, I thought it’d be easier.
I know you learn invaluable skills in the process, to market yourself, the art networking in the US, and making connections. And you may even enjoy it. Not networking per se, especially not at company events; I still consider them to be a pain. For me it often means standing with a glass of wine in my hand and listening to endless conversations about American sports, a subject I don’t yet master – and probably never will. Most of the time I am even sure which sport the people are talking about. The other great topic here is ‘where you went to college’ and I did not go to college here, so I’m left out. So some conversations with me usually revolve around my Italianess: “Oh you come from Italy? I went on honeymoon there’. And I love to talk about traveling.
I know you must ‘trust the process’, I know it’s a difficult year. I know we are all in the same boat. I hear ‘hang in there’. I know recruiting requires patience and fortitude. But still. I have a bottle of Prosecco in my fridge and I’d like to open it for the right reasons. Otherwise I’m off to Antarctica. Apparently penguins don’t discuss American sports.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
Ah Irene, what can I say? I think I personally lost time in the game because I couldn't get the hang of this networking - artfully avoiding conversations that involved anything American instead of standing there and being the one to change the direction of the conversation.
If I could go back and do it all over, I'd have done it differently, but I am still pretty sure I wouldn't have had the chance to put on a suit in Q3. Unfortunately, retrospecting doesn't change anything.
Hollow as in sounds, hang in there, we're in this together.
Personally, through networking I got to learn to talk about things that interested other and not necessarily me. I hear you on American sports on college history. I also found mostly ppl don't care much for whats going outside. So i learnt to talk about things i did understand about what they like. End of the day you got to make a choice about where you will be happy and what you are willing to put up with. Guess what, networking with companies gives you every indication of the casual conversations you will be having in the workplace. Use that to make informed decisions.
Irene--great post. Very well written. I totally understand your frustration and the pains of networking, but I will say that it's an accomplishment to be known as a "great networker". That's an awesome skill to have that will take you a long way.
Networking for me is what computers do.
Hang in there. We're all in the same boat and if it's sinking - well, we might as well open that prosecco and enjoy it (i.e. please call me when you open it).
parole vero, certo.
i am sorry that you are feeling frustrated with this. i wish i had advice. but you are on the right track. i think that recruiters will begin to come to their senses when they realize that being so conservative will cost them viable talent. now more than ever they need talent!
hey, come join me in snack food. people will always eat that!
YOUR SITE IS REALY ROCKING>>> We are a designers and developers named shalominfotech it is an ISO certified
IT training company,software developing & website designingcompany also. and this site also developed well and it's very usefull to every one
who need unique solutions.
Post a Comment