Work the Network
A few weeks ago I went to a company new hires happy hour. It was good for me to go. I’m at the end of the ‘new hire’ period and so it was my last chance to meet some high level executives.
I’m also part of a women’s group at work that specializes in networking at the company both inside and outside of the office. It’s a good thing that I’m part of that group because I would have felt like a fish out of water when I first arrived. But a woman from the group was at the door and greeted me by name because it was on my tag, but also because she genuinely recognized my face from a breakfast a few months ago.
The room was filled with folks I didn’t know and I wasn’t sure how to angle myself in front of them, but I did summon up the courage to talk to some younger new hires and walk right up to the head of my specialty group. I had seen his name on emails since I’m in his organization, but I told him I just wanted to say hi because I recognized his name. He seemed to appreciate that.
There is another event this summer that draws from his organization and I hope to put myself in front of him once more. I think getting yourself in front of people over and over helps. No need to be annoying, but say hi and simply remind them you met them at XYZ event a few months before. You don’t have to embarrass them if they don’t remember, but they’ll make more of an effort if you say you’ve met them before. The catch is to say hello every time you can, make some chit chat and hopefully when it comes time for recognition and what not, you’ve made a name for yourself to the folks that matter.
Wish me luck!
Traciatim wrote:
I don’t get it, how come women get a group, but if men had a men networking group there would be a huge uproar about sexist bigots and their ‘old boys club’?
Posted on 09-Jul-08 at 10:42 am | Permalink
Revanche wrote:
Good job! How did you find/select your group? I’ve been working on networking and looking into professional organizations the past couple months.
@Traciatim: Women don’t “get” a group while men aren’t allowed; a women’s group fills a need and doesn’t hurt anyone. And historically, there’s a reason the phrase “old boys’ club” is engrained in the lexicon. Men, and I’m not saying all men because obviously there are socioeconomic divides within the gender, have always had some form of the old boys’ club.
Even where I work now, there is a distinct old boys’ club. It might not be formal like Mapgirl’s networking group, but I guarantee you that no matter how smart, talented or accomplished a woman is, at the end of the day, she gets patted on the head, told what a good job she’s doing, and sent home while the boys make the real decisions. If a woman wants to succeed in that environment, she has to either join the (old boys’) club, or learn to network in some other form.
Men network differently than women, and I think the real relevant factor is that successful people network all the time. If women form a structured organization to accomplish the same aims that many businessmen achieve by networking on the golf range, in a bar, or after hours, I don’t see a reason for objection. Perhaps it’s because I’m a woman, perhaps it’s because I’m ambitious, or perhaps I recognize that if what I need doesn’t come naturally to me, I need to find a way to make it happen.
Whatever the case, I think that anyone who is willing to work, work hard and work smart is entitled to their achievements, assuming it’s not at the expense of others. And I don’t think that a women’s group falls under the category of “at the expense of others.”
Just a thought.
Posted on 09-Jul-08 at 11:50 am | Permalink
mapgirl wrote:
Traciatim,
There is a women’s networking group at work because the men don’t know where the mother’s room is for pumping breast milk. ’nuff said.
FWIW, there is a knitter’s group and a race-based groups as well. It’s what the employees formed for themselves with the support of the company, not company imposed. Heck, I’m an Oracle networking group too.
Posted on 09-Jul-08 at 2:33 pm | Permalink
Traciatim wrote:
I can see the Knitters group, and the Oracle Group. They have common interests to share information about a topic of information. My point is this:
1) Women make a group to support women and their simply working together. Men have a support group for men and they’re sexist pigs.
2) You can have a black support group and they are helping each other. You have a white support group and you’re a racist pig.
“Even where I work now, there is a distinct old boys’ club. It might not be formal like Mapgirl’s networking group . . . ”
The reason it’s not formal is because if they made it formal they would be sued by the women support group for being sexist pigs.
Posted on 10-Jul-08 at 2:07 pm | Permalink
Stephanie wrote:
Networking in general is a tricky thing. I went to a networking event soon after I lost my job. I had contacted an alum from my school, and we talked for a bit, and then he invited me to the event. Anyway, I found that if you were just willing to talk to people, they were often willing to talk to you. Granted, there were plenty of people there that only wanted to make business connections and wouldn’t waste their time on a short, young looking woman not connected to the next VC firm they’re going to work with, but that was fine with me. I don’t like that kind of networking, where it’s just sort of slimey and self-benefiting. I definitely learned a lot from the people I met (many just wanted to give me advice and tell me to not do what they did back in the day), and followed up with them later to keep them updated.
The key is to help others, because you never know when you’ll need their help.
Posted on 16-Jul-08 at 1:18 pm | Permalink