IA04: Practice Professional Networking

Internship Mixer
         I attended the internship mixer on October 25th at 4:30pm. It was held in the Mellon Board room where many companies and organizations stood at different tables all around the room. I walked around first to get the layout of the area and then I picked up the sheet that had exactly who came that day, what their company is about, and what kind of interns they are looking for. I circled a good handful of companies I was interested in and then I went around to find them and talk to them to find out more information about their company. The companies I was most interested in included, Caboodle, Moxie Events and Power Bomb Productions LLC, My Brothers Keeper, and Girls Write Pittsburgh. Most of these companies dealt with communications, marketing, public relations, and working on social media pages which I really enjoy doing. 

 I got their information and I gave them my business card which was very helpful to keep in contact after the event. I then connected with the people I talked to on LinkedIn so I can continue our conversation. I learned that connecting with people on LinkedIn is very important from Dr. Chung in her lectures. By making connections on LinkedIn it helps keep contact with potential employers as well as grows my network in the workforce moving forward. I then made an appointment with career development to help me with my next steps on talking to the employers. They helped me figure out what I want to say to them on LinkedIn and over email and then what my next steps from here can be. I also got a headshot taken for my LinkedIn profile and next week before I leave for break I am meeting with Lesli Somerset at Career Development to look over my LinkedIn profile to make sure it is ready to be utilized the right way.

 Within a couple hours of physically walking around and talking to people I learned how to market myself and what I can do right now that will help me in the future. I learned what companies and organizations expect from college interns and what certain internships really entail. By knowing what the companies are looking for that I might be applying to, better helps me appeal and work for them since I know what to expect. Learning how to market myself was very useful for this mixer. By marketing myself I was able to communicate with employers how I am fit for the job and how they would benefit by hiring me. In return they showed me how great their company is and how great it would be to work for them.

 I also learned from one of the podcasts I still listen to on HBR Ideacast, there was one episode called "When Men Mentor Women", and it talked a lot about the different situations where men mentor women. David Smith is the spokesperson for this podcast, and he talked about how it can sometimes be difficult with the gender roles in society and how there is still a problem with equity. I learned there are certain things men can do to help women in the business field and in the workforce in general. By hiring women in leadership positions and putting faith in them, it can really help them be successful in society, which then helps society in general. I can relate this general business news to what I experienced in this internship mixer. Most of the employers I spoke with were men and they were actually very intrigued with what I had to offer their company and they were excited to get my contact information. I explained to many of them how I am the Executive Vice President of Communications for Chatham's Student Government and I am very experienced in communications and marketing things on social media, and they thought it was great that I have experience with what they are looking for and that I am in a leadership position. This encouragement from a male to a female is very important and should be more emphasized in society, so I am really glad that I had a good experience with this specifically. 

 I also read an article by the Stanford Social Innovative Review called, "Elevating Community Authority in Collective Impact" that talked about having the community together meeting with a lot of business people, representatives, CEOs, nonprofit leaders, and just successful people in the business field period. This reminds me of the internship mixer as there were people from all over gathered and talking to one another about business or job opportunities. Like this article explained, it gave community members the change to talk to successful officials and employers just like the internship mixer did for myself and all the other students who go to Chatham. Having this one on one experience can be very helpful once utilized and talking face to face with a potential employer not only helped me get a foot in the door when I apply to the position, but it also helps me truly understand what it will be like to work with the individuals I have spoken with. It was a great experience and I hope to do it again in the future to gain more connections.

 Article:
White, B. P., Blatz, J., & Joseph, M. L. (n.d.). Elevating Community Authority in Collective Impact (SSIR). Retrieved from https://ssir.org/articles/entry/elevating_community_authority_in_collective_impact

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