Networking

I hear it all the time in the Career Center—one of the surest ways to find a job is to network.

According to dictionary.com, a network

is an association of individuals having a common interest, formed to provide mutual assistance, helpful information, or the like

Used as a verb in a professional context, networking

is used to cultivate people who can be helpful to one professionally, esp. in finding employment or moving to a higher position

Networking is so successful because it puts a face to a person’s qualifications; if I came up to you at a cocktail party and we connected over our shared interest in museum technology, and then you told me that your museum is looking for a new web editor and that I should apply, then BINGO, I have made myself and my resume more visible in your selection process because someone at the museum can say that they remembered talking to me.

Of course, more often than not, a job suggestion will not fall into your lap with every professional conversation you have, but the point of networking is to get your name out there to the people in your field who you might end up working with in the future. The more contacts you have, the more likely you are to hear through the grapevine that a particular company or organization is hiring. If you can go further in your initial meeting and exchange business cards, then you have an at-the-ready contact that you can reference anytime you need to in the future.

Now, I have to admit that networking is not my strength. I am shy and introverted and am drained after an hour or so of small talk in a crowd that I’m not familiar with. I tend to shy away from social situations where I don’t know people and I have a hard time promoting myself and my accomplishments because of a fear that the other person won’t be interested in hearing what I have to say.

However, just because I’m not comfortable with standard networking, it doesn’t mean that I can’t still successfully network. Instead of signing up for networking events, I try to accept invitations to events where I know at least one or two people. In these situations, at least I have the comfort of one person to talk to, and I am more comfortable and confident meeting new people if there is someone else around to share the conversation burden. I also try to foster a good relationship with any professional that I do have a reason to come in contact with—for example, a professor or a guest speaker that I feel at ease talking with because I am able to get to know them more gradually in a group setting.

In fact, the latter technique is exactly how I managed to land my first internship at the National Air and Space Museum.

Up next: How I finially landed my first internship