Shoutout to the library at my local community college for changing how I think about networking

Honestly, I always thought networking was just going to career fairs and handing out business cards. But last month I walked into the library at St. Louis Community College to study for a certification, and I saw a bunch of people huddled around a table working on resumes together. Some lady I didn't know just asked me to look at her cover letter, and I ended up helping her and getting tips on my own job search. It clicked for me that networking is really just talking to people in the same boat as you, not some formal thing. I think I was overcomplicating it before because I was scared of being judged. Has anyone else found a random spot like a library or coffee shop that turned into a better networking spot than those structured events?

3 comments

3 Comments

janarivera1mo ago

Wait, you mean all those times I avoided the library study groups I was actually missing out?

claire_hart531mo ago

Oh for sure, @janarivera that was totally me too. I thought study groups would just be awkward and slow me down, but looking back I bet I missed out on a lot of good tips and shortcuts from other people.

bettyroberts1mo ago

Hear me out, I totally get why that worked for you, but I've had the exact opposite experience with those kinds of library meetups. Too many people just want free help on their resume without giving anything back, and I ended up wasting an hour correcting someone's grammar while my own studying got pushed aside. @janarivera those study groups you skipped? Probably just a bunch of people pretending to work while actually gossiping about the professor. I learned way more by locking myself in a carrel with headphones and focusing on my certification materials rather than getting pulled into a conversation circle where nobody really knows what they're doing. Structured networking events at least have a moderator who keeps things moving and stops one person from hogging everyone's time.