“It’s about who you know” – is drilled into most Business students but most of us find it intimidating to approach industry professionals. Many students tend to shy away from the amazing networking opportunities provided by our school. After all, isn’t it difficult to talk to all the managers and potential employers?
This is why I decided to challenge myself and joined the Beedie Ambassador program, a perfect opportunity to expand my network and represent the school while doing so. I was fortunate to be selected as an Ambassador and soon enough was off to one of my first networking events.
The annual boat cruise is one of Vancouver Board of Trade’s most anticipated events of the year and I found out exactly why. Aboard “The Pride of Vancouver”, myself and four other Ambassadors had the chance of meeting people from various industries. I had great conversations with professionals ranging from real estate to mining. The casual environment made it very easy to approach them and many were even friendly enough to come talk to me.
One important lesson I learned that evening was that it’s not just about exchanging business cards and sending a follow up email, it’s about having great conversations and sharing meaningful stories. I ended up meeting an Enactus (formerly SIFE) Regionals Competition judge and had a great talk about how he felt about SFU projects. I also had a great time talking to two real estate professionals, an industry I wasn’t too familiar with before meeting them.
These are the things you remember when you go out and network. It won’t always be this casual or easy to approach people, but why not try? As you can see, we made full use of the photo booth that was graciously provided by VBOT. Who says networking is boring or difficult? And if you feel that way, it’s about time you became a Beedie Ambassador!
Madhav is a fourth year Management Information Systems and Finance (Hons.) student and is currently finishing his co-op work term at TELUS. He is passionate about ideas and action, which led him to organize the TEDxSFU conference as well as attend TEDActive. His other involvements include international case competitions, Enactus SFU, BASS FROSH, and RADIUS SFU. He is also a foodie and nature lover, so you can find him hiding in food joints or the mountains.