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Professional Networking (WordCamp style)

2016-01-01

My first listen to Office Hours.fm podcast hosted by Carrie Dils. Started with episode 70 – “Taking Your Freelance Business To The Next Level, Episode 70”. 31 minutes (so halfway) into it, the panelists have discussed the WordPress ecosystem where freelancers form partnerships based on their skillsets / strengths. The panelists talk abou how the center of this — where the magic happens — is by freelancers / professionals meeting at WordCamps and Meetups.

The podcast show host and guests talk about how people stronger in sales and talking with clients go to a WordCamp and may strike up (a) friendship(s) with someone who is good at creating product. The man guest mentions how, as someone strong on the talking-to-clients / client-relationships (meaning sales) end of things, he really took the opportunity to find and seek advice from a product person at a WordCamp. Someone mentions how the key here is that friendships and trust grow across multiple consecutive in-person events, and then later business partnerships naturally form more easily because that strong personal trust is already there.

What strikes me listening to this podcast is that some people are most definitely more on the product/coding side of skill strengths, yet these same people might feel like there’s no one who’s interested in their skillset. And yet here is someone on the podcast saying they are looking for someone like this – the person is looking for someone strong on the product/coding end of things. Looking for a Software Development Engineer (Looking for a Software Developer)

To me listening to this podcast, I might say that described in a single term, what’s going on could be called Professional Networking. However I don’t recall anyone on the podcast using that term. In any case, it’s clear to me listening to this that as a Software Support and Development Engineer, one constantly needs to do this- network with all of one’s colleagues to keep professional relationships past, present and future!


[2019 edit: Moved to: https://i̶n̶v̶e̶s̶t̶o̶r̶w̶o̶r̶k̶e̶r̶.̶c̶o̶m̶/2016/... .html.]