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            To practice building my professional network, I attended the internship and job mixer that was run by Chatham University’s Business and Entrepreneurship Department. This event was held in the Welker Room, and hosted employers from all over the general Pittsburgh area. Some of the employers that I networked with were the Garden of Peace Project, Muscular Dystrophy Association, and Venture Outdoors.

            The Harvard Business Review gives tips on how to effectively network and practice “inbound marketing” in their article How Successful People Network with Each Other. Inbound networking is the idea of drawing people to you instead of you going to them. If you make yourself seem interesting by talking about your interests (and not just your work background), then important people are more likely to seek you out. Building connections on interests outside of the workplace can often form even stronger bonds, like that between Warren Buffet and Bill Gates, who got to know each other by playing card games.

            What my experience at this mixer and this article have taught me, is that I still have a far way to go before I’m a professional networker. I need to go into a situation with questions and topics that I plan to talk about with employers. I also need to do my research on the people coming, and possibly find out about their interests so that I can find a way to connect with them. Overall, I need to learn to not be so stiff, and lighten up in situations like this. Being professional is important, but you won’t stand out if you’re boring.