Wednesday, January 23, 2008

I was at a congress yesterday, and I brought away with me some very important insights:

1) Networking is a thick-skin skill that needs to be honed, practised and developed.
How do you walk up to a stranger and strike up a conversation? I don't know, you tell me. Because I can't do it. Maybe it's immaturity, naiveity, culture, upbringing or a whole host of all factors but the bottomline is that I just don't know what to say, and how to start saying, to these people.

2) You want to know him, but he might not feel the same way (and the same goes for love, eh?).
For a student like me, the power imbalance is tremendous. What can I offer to the bigwig exec in exchange for the precious insight, valuable contacts and possible opportunities presented the other way around?

3) What do people actually DO at such conferences?
The main purpose is to network. A lot of industry insights are actually part of the general sentiments - few other businesses will probably reveal their "secrets to success". So why do companies blow a fortune sending their people to these meetings? Furthermore, contacts established are between people, not companies. When you're meeting other people from the same industry instead, your networking might even translate into a new job offer (so the company essentially paid for your finding a new job? Haha.)

Mrs Brightside at 9:26 am

{xoxo}