Blog Archives

Networking Thursdays - Volume 27

7/27/2017

Adika Mammadrahimli is a PhD student at Clemson University's Department of Civil Engineering. She is conducting research on transportation safety, urban planning, and roadway design. She is also a director of student services in the Clemson Graduate Student Government.

While I was a graduate student at Clemson University we had a Student Chapter called the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Student Chapter, and becoming a member of this chapter gave me a lot of opportunities. In my first year that I joined the chapter I was elected as the communications chair of the chapter and the second year I became the vice president of the chapter which opened up a lot of opportunities for me. Becoming a member of this chapter allowed me to participate in prestigious transportation engineering conferences and I got the chance to meet the current president of the actual organization through networking at one of the conferences. It also helped me to make connections at the company that offered me a position in Las Vegas. I joined the Las Vegas chapter of ITE and lived there for several years.

Finally, I ended up coming back to Clemson, because while I was working in Vegas I realized that I like teaching more, so the plan is to become doctor and work as a professor in the future. I will definitely be teaching my students the importance of networking.

0 Comments

Networking Thursdays - Volume 26

7/20/2017

0 Comments

Amalina Wahab likes to think of herself as an aspiring engineer who is passionate to contribute in exploring and solving grand energy challenges. She is currently a hydrocarbon allocation engineer at PETRONAS, Malaysia’s world-renowned oil and gas company. She received her B.S. degree in chemical and biomolecular engineering from KAIST where she has wore multiple hats as the president of the KAIST International Student Association (KISA) and MARCOMM director of the KAIST BizWorld organizing committee.

There is a professor I have had regular meetings with since the first semester in my department. When the time came that I was searching for research opportunities in my area of interest (lithium ion batteries), I talked to that professor about it and he recommended a professor in another department who is gaining a lot of recognition recently in the specific field. Long story short, he accepted me to be a research assistant in his lab where I have worked over two years under him which includes two URP grants for two different projects. In August of last year, I was awarded the Excellent Prize for my research project that I presented at the campus-wide KAIST URP Workshop.

After the completion of my URP he recommended me to another professor, with a similar research interest but different focus. These professors are also the ones who have successfully recommended me to the graduate schools and jobs that I applied for, including my current position at PETRONAS.

0 Comments

Networking Thursdays - Volume 25

7/13/2017

0 Comments

Eiblin Ni Fhallamhain has been an English language instructor at Joongbu University and Gongju National University of Education. She is leaving Korea this autumn, grateful for the opportunities she has had here to develop as a teacher.

The best professional opportunities I have had, someone reached out to me precisely when I needed the work. It isn't enough to have a network of contacts. You must be known to be available for work. My second university contract and a recent short-term job came about this way.

I had an awkward period of time, six months that I needed to somehow find work for, despite the fact that most English teaching contracts in Korea are for 12 months. I finished at a long-term position last winter with plans to return to Ireland. However, my husband's contract is up at the end of this summer, so I had this awkward length of time without a full-time job. I planned to live frugally and hopefully pick up a little work here and there. I told friends and acquaintances that I was available for short-term and part-time contracts. I told people in person, but I also put the word out on social media.

I was on my newly-acquired spousal visa for only about a month when I applied for a new E2 for a summer position teaching adults at a local government officials training centre. Tim had worked there in previous years, and when they asked him to teach the course again and recommend some other teachers, he knew I was available and contacted me. We know each other through a mix of personal and professional contacts. Unusually for English teachers in Korea, my family lives here, and Tim had worked at the same place as my mother for several years. The timing of the contract was inconvenient for most teachers of adults, as it overlapped with the end of the university semester, and anyone on a university contract wouldn't be able to take the job. Tim knew that I wasn't on a university contract and had extensive experience teaching adults.

Instead of eating into my savings for a few months I added to them, by making sure that my network of friends, former co-workers, and other professional acquaintances knew I was available for work. There are some short-term contracts going around that companies find difficult to fill, so if you find yourself between positions make sure that you put yourself out there.

0 Comments

Networking Thursdays - Volume 24

7/6/2017

0 Comments

Michael Moses is a lecturer of TESOL and business English at PaiChai University in Daejeon, South Korea. He is also a mountain bike instructor and guide for iGuideKorea.

In my experience, the most useful professional contacts appear at the nexus of personal and professional life. Upon arriving in Korea, I became increasingly involved in a social mountain biking club called Mountain Bike Korea. At the annual campout event in 2010, I met two people who would transform both my personal and my professional lives. One of these new friends ended up using his connections to arrange for me an interview for a coveted university teaching position. Although my credentials were lackluster compared with many of the other candidates, that personal referral landed me across the table from the interviewers, giving me the chance to show them that I had more to offer beyond the lines of text on my resume. The interview I was granted only through this connection was enough to convince the staff to bring me onboard for the start of an ongoing seven-year career in tertiary education.

The other contact I met at that fateful campout owns an outdoor sports tour company in Korea. He believed in my ability on the bike and decided to sponsor me as an athlete on his mountain bike racing team. The funding, support, and community the team provided allowed me to bring my performance to a level I hadn’t reached before, resulting in a prize-studded seven-year career of podium finishes in local and national races. Advancing age and injuries eventually caused me to leave the racing scene, but the professional opportunities didn’t end there. Along with the contacts I had made through the team, I have started a small bike-guiding tour business, and we now work together doing what we love while providing a service for bike enthusiasts residing or visiting Korea.

These two cases are just drops in the bucket of what personal connections have done to enhance my life. When it comes down it, organizations are all just intricately arranged groups of normal people just like you and me. The best way to gain access to the group is the same as that used to access the person – a warm smile, a kind word, and an outgoing attitude. These traits can only be truly communicated through direct, personal interactions, but the payoff can be life-altering.

0 Comments

Networking Thursdays - Volume 27

Networking Thursdays - Volume 26

Networking Thursdays - Volume 25

Networking Thursdays - Volume 24

Tim's Thoughts

Categories

Archives