Showerthought: I was dead wrong about networking events being useless

For years I thought networking events were just awkward small talk and business card swapping. Then I went to one in Austin last fall and met a guy who got me a referral for a job at a local tech startup. That one conversation at the Hilton downtown led to an interview and a 15% raise. What's something you were skeptical about that actually paid off in your career?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_tara26d agoMost Upvoted

Hate to say it but random mishaps are basically how networking works for real people. That coffee story is proof that the best connections come from the most awkward moments. People remember the person who laughed it off and kept talking more than the one with a perfect handshake.

aaron88426d ago

You said "the person who laughed it off and kept talking" and that's really the key. People get so stressed about being perfect at these things but the ones who can just own the awkward moment and keep going end up being way more memorable. It's like the universe filters out the people who would get weird about a little mess and only leaves the ones who can roll with it. That coffee spill might have been the best thing that could have happened to that guy.

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umathompson26d ago

Laughed out loud when I read this because I was the opposite... walked into my first networking event with a stack of business cards and a plan to hand them out like candy at a parade. Ended up spilling coffee on the CEO of a company I wanted to impress and spent the next hour hiding in the bathroom scrolling through my phone. But somehow that disaster led to a random chat with another awkward guy at the snack table who ended up recommending me for a gig six months later. Guess the universe has a bad sense of humor about these things.