Net Working

The biggest difference, for me, between my graduate and undergraduate experiences has been networking. As an undergraduate, I abhorred networking. I couldn't stand it. Why would I talk to people for the sole purpose of using them later on for work purposes? Especially as a writer. I was a budding poet. My blinding talent would force people to come to me. Now I know better.

I suppose I had it beaten out of me. Years of food service. Special education, kids on probation, office work, temp work. Each job I found myself doing what others couldn't bring themselves to do. Cook their food. Deal with brats. Filing. Copies. Bills. But even then, with each stop, I unconsciously navigated my way through by networking.

In food service, I worked my way up from grunt to supervisor. I worked lunches with the day managers and nights with the night manager. Slowly, they gave me more non-food tasks. Processing invoices. Inventory. Storeroom orders. And each task gave me more freedom to do what I wanted, and work the hours I wanted. I didn't seek them out. I just talked about the Packers and politics and how any problem with a beer tap is caused by either temperature or pressure.

As a substitute teacher, a co-worker from the restaurant hooked me up with a long-term assignment as a special ed. assistant. Then he invited me to help him coach girls' softball.

When I was in San Diego, I searched in vain for substitute teaching jobs. I looked for office work. Finally, I filled out a temp form for San Diego State. The director of an outreach program there saw that I had worked as a special ed. assistant. She hired me as an office assistant. Not great work, but I did it anyway. The program worked with "at-risk youth" (kids on probation and social service cases). The program also gave Americorps credit to those who mentored the kids. I used my office position to land a mentoring position. I didn't go out of my way to get the job. I just sort of worked there and knew the place and since I was already there, well...

And so on.

Coming into grad school, I knew I'd have to bite the bullet and—oh, you know—talk to other people. Which is really all "networking" is. I feel like someone forgot to tell me that along the way. All you have to do is converse and make nice with people and, if you're an intelligent person and a hard worker, chances are you'll wind up "networking" along the way.