Episode 4 – The Inner Workings of InterNetworking

It’s not what you know, but who you know! Wait, whaaat? I have to interact with PEOPLE? In PUBLIC?!? I’m only here for the food!!

In this episode we share stories, tips, and tactics from the much maligned world of networking.

0:53 – Sharpening the Toolbox

Erin: Treehouse – Front End Web Development track, Bootstrap, AJAX basics

Dave: Teaching – You haven’t really mastered something until you can teach it to others.

Jason: Angular 2/4 Resources

Mash Hamedani’s Angular course – build an ecommerce site

Learning Angular – a Hands on Guide – by the Dayley brothers

5:45 Opening the Toolbox – Networking!

What exactly is networking? And why does nobody apparently like to do it?

* Networking: to interact with other people to exchange information and develop contacts, especially to further one’s career.

Almost nobody likes doing it because:

* Many people don’t like talking to strangers

* It can feel sleazy or awkward, like everyone has an ulterior motive

* Knowing who the “right” people to try talking with is difficult, or even if you know who you’d like to talk to, grabbing them when they have a free minute or trying to insert yourself into a conversation with them where they may be talking to a group is difficult.

* It’s exhausting, even for “extroverted” people. Remembering names, stories, and details about the many people you meet on a daily or weekly basis takes a lot of effort.

11:29 Wait. There are beer tasting meet-ups?!

Check out this updated book originally written by Dale Carnegie called, “How win friends and influence people in the digital age”

It’s important to begin to network with people in your field as early as you can, especially before you need a job. It’ll be easier to connect with people, and make the connection feel more genuine, based on mutual interests and have casual conversations versus going into an interaction looking for a way that someone can help you get a job or further your career.

General tips:

* 9:45 – Find genuine connections based on mutual interests

* 12:20 – Tricks for remembering names

* 15:08 – What to do with all those business cards

* 18:46 – If you get someone talking about themselves, they will remember you as being fascinating.

25:15 – Dave, Erin, and Jason talk about their first tech networking experiences.

30:32 – People are here to mingle with other people…It’s a mingling kind of environment.

It helps to go in with a mindset where you know you’re probably only going to be talking to an one individual for a maximum of 10-15 minutes. If you find a deeper connection on mutual interests, then by all means extend the conversation through LinkedIn, e-mail, and other communication mediums.

37:40 – I didn’t get the job because I know somebody, I was able to demonstrate my skills and prove that, but maybe I wouldn’t have gotten that look or gotten past HR if it weren’t for that personal connection.

38:00 – Erin’s Job Hunt

Erin updates us on where’s she’s at with her job hunt. We discuss some interview questions she was asked, some things to look out for when job hunting, and perhaps most importantly, make sure both your phone and your computer are on mute or Do Not Disturb mode during an interview!