Live and Learn

Last Monday, I attended Networking Night, a workshop put on by the MPA Career Services office. Throughout our 3rd year, the MPA Career Services office puts together several events such as this one with the purpose of preparing students for the recruiting that lies ahead (I believe the office does the same for MPAs taking the traditional approach). In my opinion, this aspect of UT’s MPA program is one of the things that makes it the best program in the country (aside from the professors, of course).

Networking Night was a combination of a workshop and a networking event. For the first hour, MPA Career Consultant Michelle Polkinghorn gave a presentation on networking. She talked about effective networking strategies, the dos and don’ts of networking, how to enter and exit a conversation, and even the more subtle things such as how to hold your arms while talking to recruiters and where on a persons face you should be looking during conversation.

Prior to the night, I already felt pretty comfortable talking with recruiters, but I wanted to attend to hear any advice that might be given and to have a few specific questions answered. I learned a lot, and I left wishing I had known some of these things earlier. For example, I didn’t know whether or not it was appropriate to send thank-you notes or e-mails after the first networking night with a company. I left one particular career night last month wanting to send follow-up e-mails to a couple of the employees with whom I had good conversations, but for some reason I thought it wasn’t the time to do that yet. As I learned from Networking Night, this is something I could have done. I regret not knowing sooner, but at least I know now (and for any of you reading this, now YOU know, too!).

Following this presentation, we had the opportunity to practice our networking skills with actual employers who came to Austin for the event. This was a special set-up though; instead of the Career Night-type networking, for this event we gave the employers evaluation cards following our conversations. They filled these out with feedback and recommendations, and submitted them to the MPA office for us to pick up later in the week.

Personally, I’m not sure how much I benefitted from this aspect of the night because, as I was talking to employers, I was too busy thinking about the way I was standing, where I was looking, or how they were going to fill out my evaluation card. I think I’m much better and more natural in conversation when I’m relaxed. Having attended the workshop right before really got my nerves going! On the other hand, it was probably helpful to get that “one bad night” out of the way, and luckily it was during a practice event. (Honestly, it wasn’t too terrible. I’m probably being hard on myself.)

All in all, this was an incredibly worthwhile night. I got some great information from the workshop portion, and, as much as I don’t love receiving constructive criticism, it was beneficial to get feedback on how I’m perceived when I’m not at my best.

Next up: Meet the Firms Night this Wednesday, where I will work to hone my networking skills and hopefully learn a lot from potential employers.

Hope y’all have a great week!