MAKING THE NETWORKING MOVE

Do remember picking up the phone to call the girl or guy that you liked and then hanging up at the last minute to gather more courage?   Have you waited too long to pursue a job or position only to find that someone else beat you to it.  There are times in life where you have to take the initiative to make your own connections, determine your own path and here is an example of a person doing just that!

I annually speak to seniors here at Wartburg College on the power of networking at a senior seminar hosted by the careers services office and alumni association.  In addition to students attending they also invite area alumni and community leaders to interact with the students.  It is a great opportunity for students to gain valuable experience in working a room, gathering contact information and sharing their professional goals with strangers.

Every time I speak to a group I hear additional networking stories about how meeting someone has opened a door for them or some unique aspect of how someone they know networks.  On this occasion Wartburg alumni and Executive Director of the Waterloo Convention & Visitors Bureau Aaron Buzza, '01 shared a story with me.

He knows of a gentleman who took the initiative to begin networking without waiting on someone else to assist him.  This gentleman who was moving to the Cedar Valley decided to contact 60 individuals within the Cedar Valley to set up appointments to learn more about the community he was moving to and build a network of individuals who might assist him in his job search.  Aaron indicated how impressed he was with this man for taking the initiatives to schedule these appointments and use it as a catalyst to identify a job which he did. 

So many times in life we wait for someone else to "make the move" , whether that is asking an individual out on a date, waiting for a company to call you rather than you call them or waiting on your network to produce a result for you.  There are some instances where you may need to take the initiative like this man did make connections on your own. 

There is no substitute for meeting someone in person and if you take this approach just make sure you are respectful of the individuals time you are meeting with, have a purpose for the meeting and make sure you thank them for their time.

Aaron, thank you for sharing this story and for giving your time to assist our students.