Category Archives: Networking

The Gambling Trilogy [Part 2] – What you can learn from Craps


Posted by Jessie Spielvogel

I’ve always been a blackjack and roulette kinda girl.

Up until two weeks ago, I had never learned how to play craps. Every time I would go to a casino, the craps table always looked like it had the most exciting crowd of people surrounding it, and I always envied them as I sat on my barstool and took another card from the blackjack dealer.

Why didn’t I join in on those hot tables? What kept me from participating in all of the fun and excitement?

Well, to be perfectly honest with you, it’s because I was being a little wimp…

I had no idea how to play craps. I didn’t even know where to begin. The people at the table clearly knew what they were doing already, and I felt like I would just be in the way. I had so many questions… and didn’t want to ask anyone for fear of outing myself as the rookie. Seeing as the game moved so quickly, the questions in my head were racing at a mile a minute:

Why are people yelling?

Why are there so many chips randomly thrown across the table?

Why does the guy in the suit keep asking the hot girl next to him to blow on the dice before he rolls them?

Why do people love 7s and then hate 7s?

Why did everyone just bust out the high fives and pound its?

Why did everyone just unanimously say “awwwwww maaaannn….”?

… It was simply safer and easier to sit back and watch.

But what’s wrong with this picture? When did I become a “watcher” instead of a “doer”? WHAT’S THE FUN IN THAT?

Then it hit me – nothing good can come from watching. Not only does the act of watching cause extreme Lame Syndrome (I’m pretty sure that’s the scientific name for it), but it will also leave you with a world of regret for never taking a chance. The action happens when you roll the dice, when you’re part of the play, when you’re mentally AND physically on track to becoming a high roller.

This week, do something you’ve been wanting to do, but haven’t had the courage to make happen.

Are you bad at meeting people, but need a job? Go to an event, and talk to a stranger.

Do you think you’re more valuable than what you’re being used for at work? Talk to your manager about other opportunities within the company! Show them how important you are.

*I recently learned how to play craps by way of an awesome iPad app…and I will be putting my newfound love for the game to use in a few weeks while sailing through the Caribbean. I may come back penniless, but I’ll be proud of myself for trying!

What gamble are you going to take this week? Roll the dice, and start winning!

-Jessie


Your resume is great…SO WHAT?


Posted by Jessie Spielvogel

Here’s the ugly truth: even if your resume is perfection, you STILL may not get the job…or even a phone call.

I don’t say this to be discouraging…I say it so that you realize something that took me about four months to figure out.

When I first got to this city, I thought my resume was my most powerful tool. If I had a perfectly clean, well-designed, content-filled, beautifully crafted piece of paper that expressed my most proud professional accomplishments, any company would be a fool not to swoop me up right away, right? Maybe. But that’s not what happened.

My resume had been filtered through my college professors, my parents, my past internship managers, the career center at my university and several of my peers. I don’t think I could have possibly tweaked it anymore than it had already been tweaked by the time I arrived on the D.C. scene. I thought it was golden! And actually, now that I think about it, it was! It was a damn good resume. But what I learned was that my perfect resume is just a needle in a haystack. It was a wake up call when I realized that I am not the only one who put their resume through 800 levels of editing and reshaping…there are, in fact, other ambitious people looking for work.

So, how did I fix it?

I didn’t. When I say my resume was great, I mean it. It was great. I didn’t end up getting attention from employers until I began attending more networking events in the area and handing out my job title-less business card.  I began volunteering on committees in hopes of crossing paths with that certain hiring manager who would see the potential I knew I had. And sure enough, at my very first volunteer event, I met the right person and landed a temporary position at a public affairs firm (and by temporary position, I mean paid internship).

The moral of the story is that you can’t rely solely on your resume to take you to a great job. It’s a combination of putting yourself out there to meet the right people, continuously working on your skills (even if no one is currently paying you to utilize them), and yes, having a well-crafted resume and business card on the ready. 

 


Employed or Not, Always Have a Business Card


Posted by Jessie Spielvogel

Washington, DC Capitol BuildingMy first day in D.C. as a homeless, unemployed, bright-eyed new girl to the city, I went to a Washington Women in Public Relations (WWPR) networking happy hour. Yes, this was my first “networking happy hour,” so I was both nervous and excited while trying to pretend like I was already a networking pro. Prior to my arrival at the event, a friend of mine told me to look for “@MargieNewman” when I got there. Got it…Margie Newman.

After walking what seemed like 12 blocks in my black stiletto pumps (at the time, I obviously didn’t know not to wear those EVER thanks to spotty D.C. sidewalks…), I made my way through the crowd to the WWPR table near the back and asked for Margie. Someone directed me toward her, and I introduced myself to a cute, professional, smiley blonde lady. She was super friendly, which was quite comforting as she was one of the first people I met in the city, and I was still slightly terrified and clueless. She asked me what I did, and I explained that I had literally just dropped my bags and came out to D.C. in search for a job from Houston, Texas. She was so excited that I had come out to the networking event, and her enthusiasm for my go-getter attitude really boosted my confidence!

She then asked for my business card… and said confidence quickly disintegrated. My first thought was, “HA…. business card? Lady, I just told you I don’t have a job…. why on earth would I need a business card?”

Well, ladies and gentlemen, Margie Newman is one smart woman. I definitely consider her to be the queen of D.C. networking, and I officially felt like an idiot for the first time (and not the last time) in Washington.

After the event, WWPR board member Debbie Friez wrote a blog post, which stated:

…I’m amazed when I meet new people who are attending a networking event without their cards. At the Summer Social, I overheard WWPR board member Margie Newman suggesting to an attendee to create personal cards for the sole purpose of networking.

I WAS THAT EMBARASSING ATTENDEE WITHOUT A BUSINESS CARD AT A NETWORKING EVENT.

Please don’t let this happen to you. Learn from my ignorance, and always have a business card handy:

  1. People want to remember who they meet at these things. Shaking hands and giving a brief elevator speech is rarely impactful enough to create a strong connection on a first encounter. Give them something to remember you by. YOU NEED A JOB. Make sure they know that!
  2. People use cards to go back later and increase their professional connections on LinkedIn. They can’t add you online if they don’t remember how to spell, or ever worse, remember your name at all.
  3. If a job opportunity comes up in the near future, they will remember that you were the one who was looking for a job, especially if your card is the ONLY card in their stack without a job title.
  4. A business card is a chance to let your professional personality shine. Just because a card is supposed to be “professional,” it doesn’t mean you can’t have a little fun with its design.  Try to make it stand out so that it’s easy to locate in a big stack of cards.

I love awkward networking stories. I’ve, unfortunately, got plenty of them, and they are coming to a computer screen in front of you in the very near future.