Unforunately our Marquette PRSSA group was unable to make it to this year's national conference in San Diego this month, so I did a little research to see what the conference entailed. I wanted to see what other students thought about the presentations they were invited to. I came across this blog posting by a senior student at Ohio Northern University:
10 Tips for Networking Etiquette
It describes some very detailed tips for networking, some that I hadn't even heard of before. In fact, they make a lot of sense. I found a couple especially interesting:
4. Ladies should extend their hand to gentlemen first, allowing them to control whether they are comfortable with the exchange.
This is a neat point because, as a lady, I never thought that men might be uncomfortable with shaking a woman's hand...or vice versa in a networking environment.
8. If the first to arrive at a table for dinner, wait behind your chair or mingle until everyone is present before sitting down.
This is a great observation, because you never want to appear as though you are unsocial (even if you are a bit uncomfortable with meeting new people). Networking events give you an easy way in to breaking your shell and getting your name out there, because everyone is expecting to talk with and meet many people. There's no pressure!
4 comments:
I just attended a presentation given by Career Services about networking. It was really interesting. Hand shakes was one thing they talked about a lot. Many people judge you based on your grip, or how akward you make the exchange. For example that terrible hand shake where you think the other person is never going to let ago, not a good idea.
Another comment they made about networking is different ways to remember the names of people you meet. Some examples were creating word associations with the people's names as to make a mental connection. They also said that some people use their camera to take pictures of the people (when they are not looking) so when you enter their contact informaiton you also have their picture. I though this sounded a little creepy, but kind of a clever idea.
These networking tips are fascinating, especially the ones about male/female hand shakes. I've heard all the tips of a good handshake that Anna mentioned, but never that tip for females! Definitely something to remember.
I also appreciated number 7 on the list: Listen 80 percent of the time and talk 20 percent of the time. As college students, I think it's so important to get feedback and other tips from professionals that have been in the industry for a while. Asking questions and giving ample time to respond can leave a good impression and opens an opportunity to learn new things.
I find "Netiquette" to be an extremely interesting topic. I was watching a segment on the Today show the other day and they featured a gentleman who talked about how to network at the company holiday party.
Another tip he had for trying to remember names was to picture yourself typing their name in your head when being first introduced.
I thought the one about handshakes was interesting too, I guess I always assumed that both parties shared equal weight in a handshake between a man and a woman. Who knew?
This article is so helpful and points out some great things to remember. The biggest problem I have when meeting new people is remembering names, and I have certainly found it to be very helpful to repeat their name back to them in a, "John it's nice to meet you," way.
I do think that everyone should have to learn these no matter their major. They are great tips and can definitely help in all social situations.
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