I thought networking events were a total waste until one got me a job offer

For years I avoided those career mixers because they felt fake and awkward. But last fall I went to one at a coworking space in Austin just to prove a point to myself. I ended up talking to a guy from a tech startup about my resume formatting for 20 minutes. He called me two weeks later with an interview offer that turned into my current role. Has anyone else had a random connection actually pay off like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

lee6272mo ago

Jumped into one of those things at a hotel bar in Denver not expecting much and ended up chatting with a hiring manager about my side projects for an hour. That conversation led to a phone screen the next week and I got the job a month later. It's crazy how one random chat can flip everything around.

kim_martin2mo ago

Yeah @lee627, I'll be honest... I used to roll my eyes at those networking mixer things. Thought they were just a bunch of people trying to hand out business cards and make small talk. But after hearing stories like yours I'm starting to think I was totally wrong about them. It's wild how just being in the right place at the right time and having a real conversation can lead somewhere you never expected. Maybe I need to actually show up to one of those and just see what happens instead of judging them from the couch. Your experience makes me wonder how many chances I've missed by being stubborn about it.

margaretj401mo ago

Honestly I gotta push back a little on the whole "right place right time" thing. Yeah luck plays a part but the real magic was that you actually talked about something real with the guy, not just handed him a card and moved on. I've seen people go to these things, grab a drink, and just stand there waiting for someone to hand them a job. That's not how it works. You gotta actually engage and show some genuine interest in people, not just treat them like a stepping stone. It was the resume formatting chat that got his attention, not just you being in Austin.