Network at an Airport?

So, my brilliant plans to blog are always thwarted by my crazy life. I wish I had just a little more time for it, but, after the surviving the past couple of weeks, well, I am in the home stretch. All the awaits me now is a job, and “the real world”. I couldn’t be more excited.

A couple of weeks ago, I actually started constructing a post about networking. It’s my favorite thing to talk about, to write about, and to encourage people to particpate in. More in more in our classes and our industries we hear the phrase, “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” Well, to some people, that is really hard to grasp. They just spent four (or five) years working towards a degree, and now they find out that doesn’t matter, they just neede to know the right person?! Kind of frustrating… I know.

However, networking shouldn’t be a hassle, afterall “networking” is just talking. It’s a simple conversation with a stranger. I know this doesn’t come as easily to a lot of people as it does to myself (heck, I used to sit climb out my second story window to say hi to my neighbors,) but when it comes down to it, networking is just conversing.

I recently took a trip to LA for a job interview. On the way out there and back, I decided to try some different networking tricks. I have been lucky to be able to attend a lot of structured networking events, but I had never just gone out and talked to random people for the sake of finding out about them. So, out of the hundreds of people you come into contact with when traveling, there had to be somebody I could talk to.

I was surprised at how receptive everyone was to my friendliness. Just a smile can go a long way in the stresses of traveling. On my flight to LA I was seating next to a middle aged, well dressed gentleman. I just smiled, introduced myself and asked him is LA was his final destination. That was all it took, and we chatted and laughed for the entire 4 hour plane ride. I am not saying that everyone would have reacted this way; certainly some people like to be left alone when flying. I am just saying, it never hurts to try. With a simple smile and an introduction I started networking.

Only, it didn’t stop there. on the flight home I decided to sit at the bar in the restuarant to eat. I did this for two reasons 1. I was alone, so I didn’t want to take up a whole table and 2. The bar seems to be where all the people on business trips go to sit. Talk about some interesting people! My opener with them? “Where is your destination today?” Works like a charm. Everyone wants to talk about themselves, right? In half an hour I had met four more people. On that plane ride I sat in the same aisle as a young man in computer tech and a 17 year old on her way home from Spring Break.

What I learned from this experience is that, you never know who you could meet. That person sitting next to you could be your big break, or they could be someone who can just keep you company for a 4 hour plane ride. No matter how you look at it, it’s a win-win situation. After I got back from my trip, I couldn’t stop talking about these incredible people that I had met. Some of them I had only met for 30 mintues, but I still remembered everything we had talked about. After describing this experience, one of my sorority sisters shared an article with me that I have included the link to.

Airport Networking

The author includes 5 Keys to Successfully Network with Strangers.

I deeply agree with number 4 and 5. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain from just taking a chance at networking with someone.

As for number 3, if you are trying to network for business purposes, this is definitely great advice. However, I am not one for stereotyping myself. I think that you can learn something from everyone. Even if they aren’t going to provide you with a career advancement, they might have some really great advice. For me, everyone I met was all about offering advice; advice on my career, on how to succeed in my interview, on what to do after college. It was a great experience, and something I think more student need to take advantage of.