When networking isn't working

» Why your networking opportunities are a waste of time

Elliot Chan
Opinions Editor
‘we, S opinions@theotherpress.ca

Rewer the last school day
in high school when you,
your classmates, and everybody
else gathered in the foyer to
sign yearbooks? Remember
how you tried to accumulate as
many signatures and H.A.G.S.
(have a great summer) as
possible? Remember how
empty that feeling was after?
That is how I often feel when
I go to networking events.

Ask any working
professional and they will
tell you that networking, at
some point, contributed to
their success. But where and
how they network? That they
seldom share. I’m far from a
successful professional, but I
think I know when my time is
being wasted. My time is being
wasted when I’m not making
any genuine connections. Like
those speed-dating events that
people do to find romance, I feel
that same way with attending
networking events in search
for employment. If there is no
connection in five minutes, I

: slowly start sneaking away.

If you approach a

: networking event for your

: sole benefit, i.e. employment

: Opportunities, you'll ultimately
: fail. Rarely are employers

: hiring at these events, and if

: they are, you entering their

: lives spontaneously and then

: disappearing a few minutes later
: will not go far in influencing

: them to hire you. Instead,

: approach a networking event

: with an additional purpose.

: Ask yourself: What would

: I like to learn at this event?

: Product development?

: Marketing strategies? Sales

: tactics? Whatever. Rather than
: showing off your smarts and

: woefully impressing people who
: don’t care, gain knowledge by

: communicating with those who
: have more experience than you.

One thing I found really

: useful at a networking event

: was to have a project going in.

: If had to report on the event,

: what where the topic be? What
: can I wrap my story around?

: Let’s say I was at a tech-startup
: event (I’ve been to a lot of

: those), I could write about the
: hardest aspect of building or

: working at a startup company.
: Then I probe, I interview, I

: meet people who work at those
: companies, and I asked them

: the question: “What’s the

: hardest thing about working

: at a startup company?” I’m

: gaining knowledge. I'm getting
: results. At the end of it all, I

: have a collection of interviews
: and maybe even an article with
: knowledgeable insights. What
: I decide to do with that post is
: up to me. I can share it via my
: own network and up my Klout
: score, I can keep it for myself,

: or heck, I can send it to those

: who I have interviewed and see
: if they would be interested in

: the content. I have done more

: than network; I have made a

: connection. I’ve gone the extra
: distance and shown my spunk.

Networking events are

a waste of time if you are
: collecting business cards.
: Business cards are worth
: less than Pokémon cards
: if you don’t reengage with
: the person. They'll forget
: about you as quickly as

: you'll forget about them.

  

Image via thinkstock

 

Vancouver's viaduct variables

» What shall we do with the Georgia and Dunsmuir Viaduct?

Elliot Chan
Opinions Editor
‘we, M opinions@theotherpress.ca

ow that the filming of

Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool
has ended, I guess we can
start talking about how awful
the Vancouver viaducts are. If
you are unfamiliar with these
viaducts, they are the two
roads that connect Prior Street,
Strathcona to Expo Boulevard,
Stadium/Downtown. It’s the
big concrete bridge that runs
alongside the SkyTrain from
Chinatown to Rogers Arena.

Built in the 1970s, the
viaducts were designed to be
an entry point into the urban
core of Vancouver. I’ve taken
it to and from the city as long
as I can remember, and it has
never—ever—been a pleasant
experience. Now, with the
inception of the bike lanes, the
viaducts are hazards left, right,
and centre. And let’s not forget
about it also being a seismic
calamity waiting to happen. So
when the city council voted to
replace the ultra thin, unsettling
Hot Wheel tracks with a six-
lane, ground-level road that
offers neighbouring areas more
space for parks, residential,
and commerce, I was all in.

But once the viaducts are

: torn down, what will ultimately
: take their place will be high

: rises. Let’s not lie to ourselves,

: we are running out of room

: in Vancouver, and building

: upward seems to be the only

: feasible solution. While some

: people have a problem with

: that initiative, I don’t. Done

: correctly, buildings can be as

: beautiful as the waterfront.

: Buildings can become the

: ripples of the city, where the

: waves are the ripples of the

: ocean; both can be majestic and
: encapsulating to look upon.

The problem with so

: many big cities is that their

: infrastructures end up fencing
: people from one corner away

: from people in another corner.
: Basically, crossing the road

: becomes a great hassle, so

: people don’t do it. This creates a
: divide, which eliminates cross-
: community engagements. The
: viaduct truly makes it difficult
: to traverse. Nevertheless, we

: should not make the same

: mistake. The great big cities

: of the world—London, Paris,

: and New York—have channels
: that connect pedestrians, not

: just vehicles. In Hong Kong,

: people never have to touch

: the solid ground; there are

: walkways connecting to every
: part of the city, some call it

: a “pop-up city.” I digress; we

: shan’t be one of those, albeit

: it does sound cool to live in

: such a futuristic metropolis.

: roadway systems are assuring

: us that it is going to be better.I:
: believe them, because honestly, I :
: don’t see how it could be worse. I !
: fear that one day we are going to :

Those designing the new

 

: be like Los Angeles with layers
: upon layers of highways. With
: the demolition of the viaducts,

I can feel relieved that at
least for the moment we are
taking a step away from that.

Image via bickerton.wordpress.com