I suck at meeting new people. I find that I have a fairly pessimistic view on the general practice of trying to initiate a bond with a stranger, unless they have been highly recommended by another friend. This evening I went to a construction networking event where we (a few people from my office went) were supposed to meet and chat with contractors and companies from the area. What they ended up doing is after a while of mingling, they split everyone up into groups and began the "Speed Networking" portion of the evening (haha yes, they said they got the idea from speed dating... Anna). So I made small talk for 2 minutes and exchanged business cards with ten people, which wasn't difficult or painful... but was certainly pointless. I learned nothing about their company, what they do really, or who they are as a person. Once we were done with that, I had no desire whatsoever to shake anyone else's hand or pursue further conversation with anyone... I mean, what did I really have to gain from investing my energies into anyone there in the room (exception- coworkers of course)? I find myself leaning more and more towards that anti-new-social school of thought, and just asking myself "what's the point?"
P.S. I really enjoy spending time out of the office with people from work. It was a real treat that my supervisor came out to this event. She's pretty awesome. Beer/Open bar is a plus.
2 comments:
I'm proud of you Bertron....hanging out with Co-workers. that's awesome, so are you moving to Baltimore or WHAT?
Bert.. I know how you feel. I hate networking, and I'm supposed to do a lot of it to find stories and stuff. But it's just against my nature to walk up to strangers and introduce myself. It's too awkward. Luckily, sometimes other people are there to introduce me, and there are also often open bars.. :-)
Post a Comment