networking

Alexander is looking for a job.

He is very specific — either a job as an analyst in investment banking, or a job on the investing side of real estate.

I am proud of the steps he's taken to make himself more marketable. He spends $1,000 to buy a financial modeling program called Argus. He teaches himself the program, then takes the two-hour test and passes. He is now Argus-certified.

Alexander also enrolls in two non-credit courses at NYU in real estate finance — one on Thursday evening and the other on Saturday morning.

He joins the Cornell Club and signs up and attends a networking breakfast. There Alexander meets someone who is in the business, and he is meeting with her next week.

I tell Alexander that networking can happen anywhere, and he shouldn't rely on the obvious places.

I am on a crowded bus heading down Fifth. A woman, clearly dressed for work, is standing next to me. We start talking. Our conversation begins with the complaint of why all buses seem to come at once and ends with my telling her about my unemployed son, a recent college grad. She is a financial planner at a big bank and she asks what my son is looking for. I tell her and add, "Even though he went to a great school, he wasn't at the top of his class. And finding a job in his field is tough."

"What school did he go to?" asks a man sitting in front of where we are standing. I tell him. He hands me his card, says, "Have him give me a call," and exits the bus. I immediately Google the man and find he is a big player in real estate. 

In late August, Alexander and I are waiting in line at the French Bakery in Falmouth.  The line is long and slow moving.  Alexander and I end up in conversation with the very colorful guy behind us. By the time we order our two cranberry loaves, Ethan tells us about his childhood friend who happens to run a real estate investment company in NYC. It takes a couple of months, but Alexander is now in touch with someone from that firm.

Meeting the right person can come from the most unexpected places.

I should follow my own advice.