Tonight, on one of my few class-free evenings, I'm off to a "networking event." Not sure what to expect. It's been dubbed a "firm night" and there are going to be a bunch of companies represented, so I was picturing booths and suits, until I found out that there will be wine, beer, and appetizers and we're supposed to dress business casual. Now I'm thinking... cocktails and mingling?
Networking, in general, is a source of extreme confusion for me. Everyone is constantly talking about networking, but I don't really understand what networking is. People talk about it like it's a pursuit... like studying or playing the stock market. I've got to make sure I'm networking. Am I missing something? You're just supposed to talk to people, right? Introduce yourself and make chit chat? And the difference between networking and socializing is that when you're networking, you're ultimately out to get something and you don't really want to make friends with the person you're hanging out with? That doesn't seem very cool. But, of course, it is possible to network with people you really like, so I'm kind of at a loss as to the difference between networking and just hanging out.
What stresses me out the most is the feeling that there is some larger objective I'm supposed to be achieving while I'm making this networking small talk. I can never figure out what the objective is, or if I'm networking correctly. Sometimes, I get wrapped up in that to the point that I can't come up with small-talky things to say. And then I have another glass of wine and we all know what that leads to.
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