Learning how to network in Washington is like learning how to walk: You’re shaky at first, but eventually you find your sea legs.
For many people networking doesn’t just come naturally—it’s more of a skill you have to hone. The more you do it the better you get. Luckily for us, the D.C. quarter came with plenty of practice runs.
Our biggest networking break came the night of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. This was a big learning experience, to say the least. Chosen to represent Medill as White House scholars, we were invited to the dinner to be recognized by the president and first lady. That evening we were surrounded by celebrities, newsmakers and stars of the media world – all just dying to talk to us.
Okay, not really.
The star-studded event was saturated with people we have seen in movies and journalists we had only read, but they weren’t exactly pushing each other over to talk to us. So it was our job to introduce ourselves and hopefully make a lasting impression.
It’s easy to stand around and stare, but if you don’t take advantage of the opportunity, the moment will pass you by quickly. After the initial shock of standing shoulder to shoulder with Arianna Huffington and Rupert Murdoch at a pre-dinner reception, we soon realized we needed to blink, breathe and seize the moment.
We practiced our preliminary hob-knobbing on Seth Meyers, a Northwestern graduate who was more eager than others to chat with fellow Wildcats. Throughout the reception, we eased into conversations with Sean Penn and Paul Rudd, among others. By the end of the cocktail event, we were ready to carry on intelligent and articulate conversations with big names – just in time to meet and pose for pictures with President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama.
When the time we entered the ballroom for dinner, we felt confident to approach any intimidating figure of our choosing. It’s easy to justify why you’re not going to talk to someone, rationalize it as rude and retreat. But it’s the self-assured, confident individuals who walk away from events like these with business cards. The dinner came and went, leaving us with new perspectives on how to network most effectively. Looking back on the night we realized it was no easy task to be assertive, memorable and interesting all at once. But we now stand a little taller and have a little more swagger in our strides.
What happened next…
Alexandra: This spring I applied for a fellowship position with a big-time media company, but I hadn’t heard back. I was determined to land a spot, though, so I reached out to everyone I could think of who might know someone who might know someone else.
Finally, I found an in. Through that connection I was able to get my foot in the door with a face-to-face interview. The interview went well, but unfortunately for me they ended up cutting the funding for the position, so I was back to square one. But with a White House dinner and big-time media company interview under my belt, I feel like I’m on the right path.
Courtney: At the dinner, I had the opportunity to talk to staff members of the magazine where I’ll be interning for my global residency this fall. Though I wasn’t able to speak to everyone I had hoped to, I made some connections that really count. Though I wasn’t able to speak to everyone I had hoped to, I made some connections that really count.
It’s important to remember that it’s not how many people you talk to, but whether the conversations are meaningful. I discussed the dinner with my Medill mentor, Kenneth Piner, over lunch the week following the event. Kenneth agreed that D.C. is the perfect backdrop for a trial run of networking practice. The easiest part of networking is the initial introduction, but it’s the follow-up that most people forget. Kenneth explained he often sees students make the initial contact but fail to follow up. “It’s a sign of weakness,” he said.
In any career, networking is crucial. It’s important to remember it’s a perpetual exercise. You never know if your next conversation will guide you through the door of your ideal job, or, at the very least, get you a picture with “Mad Men” star Jon Hamm at a black-tie event.