east village idiot

Every year, my college’s alumni association puts together a networking night in several cities. The largest is almost always in New York. For some reason, I go every year - mainly as an excuse to see old friends and professors. I never really use it to network, because I’m never going at a time when I’m looking for a job. In the past, it has appeared to me that the only people who use the networking event for actual networking have been the undergrads hoping to build contacts for their first job out of school. Typically, the undergrads scan your nametag, ask what you do, and then say, “oh, that’s nice,” and walk away when they discover how boring your job actually is.

This year, I doubt they will be the only ones networking.

Every year, the school puts out a list of the attendees and their job titles. I have never seen the word “freelance” appear so much in a list before. And let’s be honest: “freelance” is just a fancy word for “unemployed.” Personally, I prefer they use the job title “Victim of The Recession.”

I’ll admit, this event has been fairly helpful for many of my fellow alumni. I’ve had some great discussions with undergrads to help guide their careers, and some of my friends have found new careers through the contacts they’ve met. 

The fact that these networking nights have led to job opportunities, however, is particularly troubling this time around. I, as a gainfully employed individual in an industry that is somewhat relevant to my degree, will most likely be pounced by not only students, but also my peers. There could be people I went to college with asking me for a job. Begging and pleading might be involved, too. This could get a little awkward.

On the other hand, I could also be shunned for being fully employed. “Oh, you have a job? Wow! What’s that like? I had one once. Yeah, those were the good old days. I’m a freelance producer now for (mumble mumble mumble).”

It’s a good thing they serve booze at this thing.

Oh, wait, they don’t do that anymore?

So, um, why am I going to this again?

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 8th, 2009 at 6:12 pm and is filed under Life Before Blogging. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.