Whatever happened to that guy?When I was getting ready to enter the wild, wild world of the 'employed' all those years ago I had to do things the old-fashioned way - I earned it. And by earn I mean typing cover letters, calling people, laughing at a lot of bad jokes at luncheons and seminars and begging professors to introduce me to their friends.
One of those networking opportunities put me in touch with a then senior manager at a local marketing agency. When I actually went to meet with him I was blown off. When I tried to reschedule, I was blown off. When I approached him about a job interview, I was blown off. So, of course, I vowed to one day take this person down.
Just kidding.
What I did vow was to work harder than ever, just so this person would one day hear about me and wonder why he didn't take that call. Well, I'm sure he never heard or read about me because I haven't done anything to merit that, but, fast forward five years. I had just rejoined AKHIA as the vice president, account development. My boss calls me into her office to meet someone who is on a courtesy interview to talk about freelancing opportunities. I go in there to meet the person and....yep, you guessed it. That guy was sitting there looking up at me. Now, he didn't remember me at all. But I remembered him. So I of course took this opportunity to tell him how he wronged me and to get the heck out. Ok, maybe not.
But it did serve as a good reminder to me why I'm always nice to potential entry level applicants, interns, students, etc. You never know who will come across your path again. I was reminded of that again today as a former co-worker was on the receiving end of a new business email. I didn't realize it because of her married name, but she remembered me. Fortunately we enjoyed working with each other and were happy to be reconnected.
What about you? How do you treat the people who knock on your door (or send you a Tweet, today) asking for five minutes? The great saying is you get what you put in - hopefully we all eventually 'get' what we put in.
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6/24/2009 1:39:08 AM
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