I don't know about you but when I think of going to some business or social event to network, I get nervous. But I found that networking really can come up in unexpected situations. Recently, I went to a library student dinner social at a noisy restaurant. Initially, I was not going to make the drive to the San Fernando Valley from the San Gabriel Valley. But in the end, I was quite glad I did. Sitting at my table was this woman who is affiliated with CSU Northridge along with the student Special Libraries organization. One of my cohorts was asking me when I planned to relocate. When she heard where I was planning to relocate, she gave me the name of a library employment agency that I had not heard of. So, of course, I immediately added that possible lead to my organizer.
Today, I came across this article that was posted by a fellow acquaintance in the library field on Facebook today titled "An Introvert's Guide to Networking." While Lisa Petrelli is not in the library field, she does offer a few simple tips for networking along with her story about why networking is so important.
So the next time you are debating whether to go to some social business networking event, remind yourself of the pros rather than the cons. You may not be job hunting now but you never know when a contact made through networking will come handy in the future.
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