Lesson Learned: Taking Opportunities

Today was quite a day.  Both the School of Information (SI) Networking Fair and the SI ExpoSItion (which I wrote about last week) were held as part of SI's amazing opportunities for students to broaden their job networks and increase their presentation skills.  Last year, I did not participate in either the Networking Fair or the ExpoSItion.  I can't remember why, but I didn't.  When the chance to do both came around again this spring, I quickly decided both events were opportunities in which I wanted to take part.

I went into the Networking Fair with an apprehensive attitude.  I'm not graduating from the School of Education until December, so while I will have my MSI next month (whoa!) I'm probably not "officially" on the job market until winter 2012.  I gathered my Employer Booklet and went straight to a university library table where I already had contacts.  The chat went well and I left having met yet another person at that library.  Yay :)

The second table I chose to go to was that of another large research university in Michigan, where I've had little contact.  However, I quickly learned that the employers were very interested in my current line of study, my skills, and my background.  It didn't take much (except friendliness and preparedness on my part) and I walked away with the Library Director's email address and an offer to visit them after graduation.

I went into the Networking Fair expecting very little and left with a lesson that is invaluable.  There were few libraries at the Fair, and of those, I knew people at all but one.  All but the one that I walked away from with a chance to network further.  This helped me learn the lesson that I learned today.  Take the opportunities that are presented to you.  It is as simple as that.  Go into opportunities with an open mind, be prepared to present yourself as well as you possibly can, and take some chances.  If I had not gone to the Fair, which would have been very easy, I would NOT have expanded my networking circle or met the people who are going to give me yet another opportunity.

This same lesson applies to the ExpoSItion.  I went to the ExpoSItion thinking that most of the other projects would be much more interesting than my group's library research project (because frankly, many of the projects at the ExpoSItion are created by designers who do cool, interesting things and make their posters look really pretty).  But I was busy talking to guests at the ExpoSItion almost the entire time.  People were interested in our project, and commented on the poster's design.  Without taking that chance, I never would have created a poster all on my own, learned that you don't mount your poster before getting to the conference, or met people who wanted to hear about what we were doing.

This lesson is something to carry with me - when someone gives me an opportunity to do something, take it.  I simply never could have imagined all of the great things that happened today, and they wouldn't have happened if I didn't take the chances that were presented.