Networking Event.....eeek!

By Christine K.

After looking through all of the assignments we were given for our internship program I was definitely the most intimidated by the networking event. I honestly hate any event that makes me wear a name tag, and then one that requires me talking to other people about their jobs just puts the cherry on top of that hatred. I knew it had to be done though, so randomly I picked up copies of Juice and Cityview looking for networking events going on around town. Finally I saw one that I was slightly interested in and decided I would attend.

The event was a wine tasting at Jasper Winery called New View After Hours,and the ad mentioned there would be several West Des Moines YPC members there. I know that Crystal advised against us bringing a friend to a networking event, but I know myself well enough that if I don't bring someone with me then I will just end up not going at all. I decided to ask my really good friend Janel to come with, we have known each other since we were 6. I was actually pretty nervous, because I don't really have a career yet and I am still kind of trying to figure out exactly what it is I want to do.

When we arrived at the event I was surprised to see that there were not a lot of people there yet. Janel and I sat down at a table and just started chatting about random things, and eventually more people arrived. Unfortunately for us we ended up sitting a the boring table, which always seems to happen whenever we go somewhere together. I am not really sure if it is because we're quite weird so no one wants to sit next to us and we get stuck with the late comers, or because together we are also really outgoing and that intimidates some people. Personally, I hope it's the latter of the two.

So the actual wine tasting got underway and we all introduced ourselves and said what our jobs were. Surprise, surprise everyone else at the table was working in accounting except Janel and I. I was pretty bummed since I have no desire to do anything in accounting and I was really hoping to meet some people that were into similar careers as me. The actual wine tasting part came to an end and I was disappointed with myself for not even getting anyone's business card yet.

Luckily after the wine tasting they allowed us to just hang out,and also take a tour of the place if we wanted to. Everyone at our table left but the table next to us invited us to come over and talk with them. They were clearly a lot more fun than our previous table, and immediately one of the guys and Janel started talking about It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. I knew right away that this guy and I were going to be friends. I ended up talking to him for a little while and got his business card and another girls card from the table as well. They even invited us out for drinks after the event, but we already had plans.

I left the event in a way better mood than when I arrived, and I like to believe the wine did not have anything to do with that. All in all I would say it was a fun experience, and I would definitely consider going to another networking event. Next time I would prefer it be one that is for psychology or art career/minded people so I could actually get a little more information about a job in my desired career field.