A few nights ago I attended a networking event for young professionals in London, and as I work in New Business and love networking, which is why I do what I do at Hurricane, I took the opportunity to get involved.
I arrived at the event and was greeted by some very young-looking professionals at the door, hosting the night. Those in attendance were, in simple terms, a bunch of young men and women in suits. Every profession was represented; there were solicitors, lawyers, chartered surveyors, accountants and even a fashion merchandiser and planner. I have to confess, as I gave the welcoming young ladies my coat on arrival, I did start to feel a bit nervous about walking into a room with a whole bunch of strangers trying to talk to each other; I could sense the apprehensiveness of some people mingling. I couldn’t help but doubt myself for a second and think what am I going to bring to this social.
I am not really one for small talk, but I have to say after a few drinks, the environment became so much more relaxed and then the chat just started to flow. By the end of it, I had worked the room and had been involved in some fun and interesting conversations. I took away with me a boost in self confidence, a ‘satisfied with myself’ kind of feeling and even 5 new business cards, so may have even made a couple of new friends out of it. I emailed my new contacts the next day and we have already planned our next meet!
I learned from this event, however clichéd this might sound, that it’s sometimes not just the taking part that counts, but however much you put in, you do get out! You need to believe in your self and just bite the bullet sometimes. Try to embrace every opportunity that comes your way!
It just goes to show, if you don’t give new opportunities a chance you don’t know what you could be missing…
So, when’s the next networking event and are you going?
