An Insightful Day

Yesterday I went with my dad to Ogden to watch one of my childhood friends play football for Montana State. One of my dads friends from college had relocated to the Ogden area and was now a big Weber State booster. The seats this friend had got us for the game were located in the luxury boxes! It was quite impressive. As the game went on all kinds of people came to visit this friend and we were introduced. People such as the Weber State mens head basketball coach and former Aggie assitant coach, Randy Rahe, the Weber State Athletic Director, the owner of several Wingate Hotels, and even Frank Layden, former coach and executive for the Utah Jazz!

After reflecting on the day, it became apparent on how true the topics of the previous blogs were: "It's not what you know, its who you know," and "It's not who you know, it's who they know." These were important people who I had met all through this single connection. It also became very apparent how important having a good elevator pitch would be. If I was in the market this would have been a great place to find a job since it is one of my goals to do accounting for the sports industry! I would only have a few minutes to get to sell myself to these people. Overall it was a very insightful expierence and I look forward to going to another game when I can really "sell" myself.

It's actually how well they know you and who they know!

As I was researching this weeks blog topic, I found many alterings to the original statement "It's not what you know, it's who you know." Two that I found interesting were, "... it's who knows you," and "It's not who you know, its who they know."

Sure, you might "know" many people but if you haven't made yourself stand out or you haven't made a good name for yourself with the person they aren't going to hire or give you a reference. They have plenty of other contacts that have done those things.

"It's who they know" plays right into the fact that you need to make a good name for yourself. Most likey a persons first job isn't there dream job. One will have to climb up the career ladder. The climb up can me made so much easier by the person who knows youpassing your name along to somebody they know. However, since you will be a reflection on them, they are only going to do this if they feel confident in you.

It's not what you know, it's WHO you know!

I never realized how true the statement "It's not what you know, it's who you know" was until I moved away from home to come to college here at Utah State. Back home I had made connections through school, through my family, through church, etc.

These connections made it possible for me to always have a job. For example we were family friends with the golf pro at the local course so when I was old enough to start working it was easy for me to get a job at the course. The cafe manager from the golf course then hired me to work at the Hickory Farms store she managed in the mall during the holiday months. Jobs opportunities were everywhere.

When I moved to Logan I was just another college kid, just another face on the street. Even though I was qualified for jobs I didn't standout to any employer because I didn't have the social connection.

Now being in Cache Valley for over two years, I feel I have once again built up that social network, allowing me to obtain a plethora of jobs if need be. It wasn't overnight that I felt this confidence though , it took being actively involved in organizations and making all types of friends, old and young. I have found it is important to take the opportunities that are given to you because you never know what will come from them!