the tricks and trades of the game

A group of middle-aged women sitting around the table, talking about middle-aged people topics. I'm sitting there trying to be polite, smile, and offer a word or two every five minutes to seem engaged. It's an awkward situation, yet such a common encounter for me.

Whenever I go on an assignment, I meet new people. And most of the time, people I meet have been working in the industry for years, as compared to myself, a fresh graduate trying to get a grip of what she's doing two months after graduation in a completely new environment. Besides having to put up with the agony of apologizing every time I ask for a name card and don't give out any in exchange, I also have to learn middle-aged women talk.

Usually, the best time to network is during lunchtime, where the tables are always arranged in circles, and you're sitting with ten other people you've never met. The next best thing to do after finishing the small talk and meal, is to exchange name cards.

Then when the conversation moves from cosmetics to picking on fresh grads who have little or no experience in the job, I am supposed to continue looking professional and knowledgeable in front of them and smile, nodding my head when clearly, I belong to the same category as the people they are referring to. At this moment of the conversation, I usually start avoiding eye contact, because the next question that will come flying towards me is "how long have you been with bla bla bla company?" and at that moment, the truth reveals, and I'm officially an outcast.

So you see, having to deal with people on a professional level is one thing, but it's a skill to know how to act accordingly and avoid running into dead-end questions thrown at you - which will often give you less credibility.

I'm still learning.