How to show up to networking events
You’ve got to be right where the action is
The cards were stacked against me.
Or rather, newspapers. I wanted to be a reporter but had no training whatsoever. I was applying for media-related jobs, but kept getting rejections because I had no prior newsroom internships. After four years of business school, I knew my way around spreadsheets but not writing news articles. I had realized my interest in journalism late in my college journey, so I did not have any award-winning campus exposé of the robotics team running an underground cyberfight club to brandish on my portfolio (isn’t that how all fresh grads get hired?). Plus, I didn’t know anybody in the news business.
I didn’t know what to do, so I reached out to the only journalist I knew: National Geographic (and now Emmy-nominated) Lauren Chor, whose TEDx talk I attended three years prior. When we met, she bought my coffee, heard about my eagerness to learn journalism 101, then asked: “Have you heard of AAJA?”
AAJA, or the Asian American Journalist Association, was a group of journalists dedicated to advancing diversity in newsrooms and had a strong program to help students enter the news industry. The Asia chapter organizes a journalism conference annually and in 2017, decided to host it in Hong Kong.
Not long after I became a member, I received an email seeking people to spearhead the conference planning. I had no idea how to run a conference, but applied anyway, adding a footnote saying I was interested to help out in any way I possibly can.
It didn’t take long for them to get back to me, keen for students who would so willingly lend their free time to help out with the 5-day conference. What happened next was a blur: late-night Slack calls, countless website crashes as I installed buggy Wordpress plugins, and endless spreadsheet tinkering (thanks, business school). I did not know how to conduct interviews, but I did know how to use Excel formulas.
All our planning had to be done through calls because the organizing team was dispersed all over Asia: Singapore, Philippines, Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Taipei. During the meetings, I was surprised to find many high-profile names debating about conference programming, the likes of team leads at Bloomberg, to anchors for local TV stations, to staff at the Google News Initiative... They suggested panel topics like mobile journalism (TikTok wasn’t a thing yet back then), led student mentoring programs, and volunteered to get in touch with potential keynote speakers. They were so generous with their time. And I couldn’t wait to meet them at the conference.
When we arrived at the venue, we gave each other embraces that can only be described as a I-heard-your-voice-so-many-times-I-can’t-believe-you’re-real warmth. (They also talk as if they’re on TV, their deep voices and well-enunciated wordings reverberating throughout the halls. Guess that’s broadcast training for ya). I did not have a single journalist friend before, and suddenly I had a whole pagination full of them. Six weeks of online contact had quickly blossomed into friendships that felt like they had been forged a lifetime ago.
At the end of each day were networking sessions held for participants to catch a breather after a jam-packed day. My hair was disheveled from running around all day, manning the registration booth, updating the website with last-minute programming changes, and laying out the catering for indulgent participants. I contemplated heading home, wanting to catch up on sleep after a full day of event planning.
But I didn’t work this hard to not meet any other new journalists beyond the organizing committee, so I braced myself and entered the room. I dropped my backpack in a corner, picked up a glass of red wine, and turned my lanyard around so my name was visible.
My new friends were spread around the room, passionately discussing the day’s panels or laughing about old memories. A good number of them have been coming to the conference for years, even decades. As I walked across the room, the Asia chapter president, Oanh, turned away from her conversation partner and motioned for me to join.
Here we go. First networking contact of the night. Hi, I’m about to graduate and I want to be a journalist but I don’t know anything about journalism. But I’m here to learn! And I’m great at spreadsheets!
She turned back to her conversation partner and said, “Have you met Becky? She’s our website whiz and has been sending out recap emails every morning.”
…Not what I was expecting. No mention about my student status or the fact that I had zero experience in journalism. I was astounded. My lack of credentials suddenly seemed irrelevant.
“I love those emails, thanks for working so hard on them,” the conversation partner smiled. They were only a bureau chief of an internationally-known newswire. No biggie.
“She’s excited to enter journalism, if you know of any opportunities. She’s extremely hardworking and reliable, and our whole conference team can vouch for that.”
As far as networking went, I didn’t know that this was possible. To come in as someone that people want to introduce. To be recommended to the crowd by people who have worked with you firsthand. A resume listing your qualifications becomes that much stronger with a penumbra of personal recommendations vouching for your work ethic.
I didn’t get a job right away, but I landed a gig in a boutique Hong Kong finance magazine. A year later, I saw an opening at S&P Global. I was due for a catch up lunch with Oanh, and mentioned that I had an interview coming up for a banking reporter position.
“Oh, I know the hiring manager for that role,” she said, pulling her phone out. “Let me send him a text right now.”
During the interview, the hiring manager mentioned that he received a text about my glowing work ethics and proactive attitude. He and Oanh used to bump into each other in press conferences, and have known each other for the decades they spent in the business.
I ended up working for him for a great three years. My network of journalist friends stems back to planning that conference five years ago. Great journalists break the news by being at where the action is. And I broke into the circle by being right at the heart of it.
Thank you to friends who helped me “break” this story: , Masha Birkby, , , and .
Inspired by
, this is a short weekly log of what’s been happening in my life & what I’m reading or consuming this week:🤝 Reconnected up with
, who is writing weekly on . And we are, indeed intending to be city girl slow lives🥼 Restarted therapy and opted to see someone new. Promising so far. I’m opting for fortnightly appointments.
📚 Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman (59% completed). Have been really enjoying this optimistic POV of human history. The book aims to answer: are humans innately kind?
🎧 Blakeney Shick Listened So You Could Too. A conversation about grief and loss with psychotherapist Esther Perel. I’ve heard Blakeney’s name at the end of every episode since 2 years ago. Her passing struck me. Listen: On with Kara Swisher.
🎧 Dear Chelsea podcast - Kill Them (with Kindness) with Julianna Margulies. My partner loves Chelsea Handler and I love Julianna Margulies, so anytime the two are on the same podcast episode, I listen to it.
📹 On the YouTube channel: Travel sketching with dried gouache palette
Becky, I really enjoyed the practical advice and the conversational voice as you encourage the reader to jump into the action to help.
Excellent piece, Becky! Love the practical advice. Thanks for taking the dread out of these networking events.