Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Intimidation No More

Intimidation is a word that is all too familiar to me right now. Schooling, interning, working, and networking have all intensified since I started college. Unfortunately, so has my intimidation to the business world. Normally, I’m an easy going person who enjoys meeting new people, but occasionally I succumb to the unknown.

This past Thursday, I attended my first real networking event called the Alphabet Bash. Thankfully, I went with my older brother who I used as a crutch when I first arrived!

These are the people my dad works with and the people I’m going to work with someday too. My initial instinct was to act like a fly on the wall, but that won’t get you anywhere in this business.

It is so easy to over analyze a situation and having my brother there made me feel protected from the professional world and made it easy for me to just watch. It wasn’t until I met Emily and Chris that I decided to branch out of my bubble. I’m so grateful Chris introduced me to his Father, Doug Spong, the President of Carmicheal Lynch Spong. I will forever remember that conversation and the boost of confidence it gave me.

During the event, my new friend Emily and I wandered to tables around the party and sparked up several quality conversations. I’ll be completely honest, I don’t know a lot about the PR lingo, but I still asked questions and picked people’s brains. No matter what career you have, learning from a professional in your field will do way more for you than reading a book in your classroom. Despite your intimidation or your fear of meeting a President or CEO of a multimillion dollar company, you must look past yourself and build the courage to approach them and build connections and relationships.

My experience at the Alphabet Bash prepared me for my upcoming career and the importance of being diligent in seeking out professionals and eliminating intimidation. Often times our generation feels privileged and entitled when it comes to acquiring a job, but you need to go out and work for it.

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