Networking (Hustler Part 3)
So you wanna exploit your friends, huh? Lemme tell you how.
It always comes up as one of the advantages of joining MUN and people talk about attribute many things to it. After all, as everyone says, it’s not always what you know, but who you know.
Having a strong network can bring about benefits that go beyond what your skills and qualifications can. By knowing the right people, you have access to the invaluable experience and guidance, have an easier time going through barriers of entry to work and even allowing you to expand your network even more.
Since they say that university’s the best time to meet new people, it is the perfect opportunity to create a network for your future career. But you’re a busy student, I know that, you know that. How are you supposed to build your network on top of everything that you’re doing?
Every Target is a Legal Target
Your campus has a variety of people within it, with different wants, needs and probably careers. Meeting this many people, with so varying wants and needs mean every day means that every day you get an opportunity to expand your vision. If you have the good fortune of being in a major aligned with your passion or planned career path, the people sitting beside you in class can easily be your future partner. But even if your passion doesn’t lie in your current major, it is actually useful to have be networked with people of different skills.
My advice is to go and join the clubs and activities that excite you the most. Being a part of MUN, I’ve had the great opportunity to meet many a law and international relations students, even allowing me to contact a person at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for an internship!
Who Dares, Wins
One of the speakers during an MUN closing session was a representative from the Ministry of State-Owned Companies. Having strong feelings about SOC’s, I was outspoken in the question and answer session of the lecture, and pursued him after the conference to ask about more details. Despite my very obvious misgivings (which I still have), the representative invited me to visit him in the Ministry, an offer I have yet to take up.
Truly, the way to gain any ground at first is to just suck it up and be bold. Dedicated ‘networking events’ to your everyday college lectures, a lot of students still feel that sense of fear when they even think of approaching a stranger. The secret is to just keep in mind that more likely than not, introducing yourself to a stranger will give said person a feeling of relief (“Oh, someone noticed me!”) instead of a sense of annoyance (“Ugh, who does this person think she is?”).
Seek to Bring Value to Others
Communal living has been practiced by villagers for centuries, it is deeply ingrained in our psyche. Saying that, the most effective way to grow your network or tribe is to truly have the intention to bring value to them without expecting anything in return. There is something in the way that you interact with people that signals to them whether your heart lies with helping them as a friend and partner, or with solely wanting to harvest what you can from the relationship. This is of course, a lie.
In university, you will encounter many individuals that hold talents and potential in areas that they have yet to realize. Being able to encourage them along that path by recognizing their strengths and giving them the opportunity to hone their craft would be beneficial to all involved.
Of course, a natural question arises — what possible value could a university student be able to provide to others?
Well at first? Your homework does need to be done and if you can’t do it, asking for help and giving out help would solidify your base and your network. But networking is an investment and eventually, your friend may work in an agency or in a Ministerial position, giving you insight into the industry you are trying to break into. This is truly the reason why you are able to exploit people from other industries as well as your own.
How did I do it?
I grew a pair and started to chat up the client regularly. I chatted with a lot of the staff after asking our hackers (but mostly Danny) for the specifics in our application. I ascertained that they are more looking for an extension of their current application and cared little for how our product looks like. It really shifted the focus.
Conclusion
Networking is awesome. Get some friends and get some labor in your friendships, make sure that you can mine your friends of all their worth. Future partners that share your visions and thoughts for a long time can be a valuable ally in the future and can help you realize your dreams.
