My first networking event
Today, I went for a networking event of sorts.
At my company we're having a challenge to get as many leads as possible, from companies who might be interested in hosting interns. When I heard of the challenge my first thought was, hey that's a smart way to get the whole company involved – a form of gamification. Then I thought, uh oh, I'm not great at this whole networking thingamajig.
Well, we were not left without help. The good thing is that we got into teams to complete the challenges and everyone around here is really helpful with giving tips and doing stuff together.
So today, I went for my first networking event of sorts with a colleague. It was at Hub Australia as a lunch/tea party and... it was great! People were really friendly and easy to talk to and I guess people who go to these events in the first place are ready to mingle. The party format was smart – people were required to change seats every five minutes. That way, we had to meet many new people but also if there were any awkward conversations, well, you would only have to last five minutes. Thankfully, there were none of the latter for me.
I was struck by the energy of the people I met. I met a CFO of a company which helps start ups with accounting (type things). I met his colleague who was also on the board of the an NGO which promotes the transformational power of reading – I wish we had more time to talk because I loved the mission of the NGO and it's something one of my sisters champions. I met a girl who went to China for a year just to learn Chinese. I also met the guy who was pivotal in Zomato and Delivery Hero's growth in Melbourne, and is on his way to starting something new.
Some crazy passionate, high energy people. Quite inspirational and aspirational. You know, people whom when you're around, give energy rather than take energy?
Regarding networking – kudos to a colleague who wrote an article about how it's important to go with the right mindset. To not feel "paiseh" (embarassed) because you feel like you're there to "take" stuff, but because what you have might be useful for others there.
So. Today, I met some amazing people and found out that networking is not (always) as intimidating as I thought it would be.
At my company we're having a challenge to get as many leads as possible, from companies who might be interested in hosting interns. When I heard of the challenge my first thought was, hey that's a smart way to get the whole company involved – a form of gamification. Then I thought, uh oh, I'm not great at this whole networking thingamajig.
Well, we were not left without help. The good thing is that we got into teams to complete the challenges and everyone around here is really helpful with giving tips and doing stuff together.
So today, I went for my first networking event of sorts with a colleague. It was at Hub Australia as a lunch/tea party and... it was great! People were really friendly and easy to talk to and I guess people who go to these events in the first place are ready to mingle. The party format was smart – people were required to change seats every five minutes. That way, we had to meet many new people but also if there were any awkward conversations, well, you would only have to last five minutes. Thankfully, there were none of the latter for me.
I was struck by the energy of the people I met. I met a CFO of a company which helps start ups with accounting (type things). I met his colleague who was also on the board of the an NGO which promotes the transformational power of reading – I wish we had more time to talk because I loved the mission of the NGO and it's something one of my sisters champions. I met a girl who went to China for a year just to learn Chinese. I also met the guy who was pivotal in Zomato and Delivery Hero's growth in Melbourne, and is on his way to starting something new.
Some crazy passionate, high energy people. Quite inspirational and aspirational. You know, people whom when you're around, give energy rather than take energy?
Regarding networking – kudos to a colleague who wrote an article about how it's important to go with the right mindset. To not feel "paiseh" (embarassed) because you feel like you're there to "take" stuff, but because what you have might be useful for others there.
So. Today, I met some amazing people and found out that networking is not (always) as intimidating as I thought it would be.
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