Argh... Networking!

[Gypsy]

I have this visceral aversion to it. And have recently become a convert to its uses. And yet every time I expend the energy I feel... slimy. Does anyone else see this as a necessary evil they have to exert themselves to make time for?

Still. I'm working with people (on the other side) that would make great contacts in the future... and on my trip to DC I met two gentlemen (one a lawyer at a nice boutique firm) who would also be good contacts. Can't ignore that. But well... I want to.

 

[strmrdr]

lol I read the title and said kewl another puter geek then saw it was the wrong kind of networking LOL

I hate that kind of networking.... storm not good at brown nosing!
Id rather troubleshoot a 3 location vpn wan connecting to a san!

 

[goldenstar]

Date: 10/6/2006 8:58:12 PM
Author:Gypsy

I have this visceral aversion to it. And have recently become a convert to its uses. And yet every time I expend the energy I feel... slimy. Does anyone else see this as a necessary evil they have to exert themselves to make time for?

Still. I''m working with people (on the other side) that would make great contacts in the future... and on my trip to DC I met two gentlemen (one a lawyer at a nice boutique firm) who would also be good contacts. Can''t ignore that. But well... I want to.

AHHHH... I hate networking too. It seems so forced and fake to me. And I hate that its a necessary evil in certain fields. Unfortunately, sometimes it really is the way to get a job.

Gypsy, are you a law student or an attorney? I''m a 2L in law school and I force myself to kiss butts wherever I go. I even send Christmas cards every year to every attorney I''ve ever worked with. I don''t want them to forget me. Ugh. I loathe networking...

 

[sumbride]

I have an aversion to the kind of networking that is for self-promotion only, but I have a natural affinity for meeting people and connecting them with other people they should know... If I meet someone and like them as a person, I naturally file them away in my mind as a future contact, but I can''t do it just for my furthering my career... I''ve actually introduced many more people to other people than I''ve used for myself, but the job I have now I got through pure networking and I keep getting information on other jobs from people I know. If you take a real interest in the people you meet, it comes naturally, but if you only see them as a contact you "SHOULD" want to know, you won''t want to know them.

 

[perry]

Networking is easy and fun if it is done for the purpose of just meeting other people you may be interersted in knowing or people whom you recognize that you may need professionally some day (it is not a bad thing to casually know a lawyer or two - you never know when something comes out of the blue and a simple phone call or letter from a lawyer solves a lot).

Networking for the purpose of using other people to get ahead in the future is a perverison of the concept above. I detest it.

Please feel free to network - as described in the first line above. If you do that you will also find that those people can help you in the future if you need help in an area they know about.

Perry