This is Part 2 of your Networking Event Assignment.

The objective of this part of the assignment is to reflect on the event and follow-up with the contacts you made. What went well and what improvements could be made?

For this part of the assignment you need to:

In a professional 5 – 6 page paper, summarize your experience.

Event Summary:

Briefly summarize the event you attended.
Describe how your objectives were or were not met.
What went well and why?
What did not go well and why?
What would you do differently next time?
Describe your strategy for engaging in conversations. Was your strategy successful?
Was networking more difficult / or easier than you thought it would be?
Would you classify this event as a success? Why?
Anything else you found interesting about your experience.

Follow-Up:

What notable contacts did you make at the event?
Provide names and contact information *I reserve the right to follow-up with them.
What did you learn about these contacts?
Do you think these people will be of value to you in the future? Why or why not?
Provide copies of all follow-up communications you made.
This could be in the form of (1) Copy of an email you sent, (2) Copy of a note/letter you mailed, (3) Details of a phone call you made.

Networking Event Assignment- Part 2 (Event Summary & Follow-up)

Name of the student

Affiliation

Course

Instructor’s name

Submission date

Networking Event Assignment- Part 2 (Event Summary & Follow-up)

Introduction

As discovered when attending the Penal Reform International event at Beverly Wilshire Hotel, networking events bring people with shared interests together where they disseminate information, expand their acquaintances circles, and develop both professional and social contacts. Delaney’s (2013) argument is highly proven through firsthand information and involvement in one of the most professional and global events on criminal justice and human rights promotion  (Delaney, 2013). This assignment focuses on conducting a post-event analysis and evaluation, determining whether previously developed objectives were met. It also identifies limitations on a personal level experience, and outlines follow up activities to ensure a productive networking event.

Event Description

I attended an event at Beverly Wilshire Hotel (BWH) on 23 May 2020 at 8:00 pm hosted by the Penal Reform International Non-Governmental Organization (PNI). The primary aim of the non-governmental organization was to promote fair and effective criminal justice while addressing gender biases and sexist prejudices in the application and viability of the death penalty. Activists of criminal justice and human rights founded it in 1989 (PNI, 2020). Since then, they have been collaborating with the United Nations, which made the event even more important to my personal growth and career development. The event is an annual event that rotates on regional locations, and this time, it was lucky enough to be hosted in the USA. The event was divided into two primary sessions, namely, a conference taking one hour with the main speakers speaking about the death penalty issues with gender and sexist biases, as the main topic. Chief guests of honor included a UN representative from the UN Security Council, the organization’s President, and a representative from the USA’s DOD. The second session was a networking and entertainment session taking three hours.

Objectives Analysis

The primary goals of event networking included pitching my newly formed movement on penal equality and criminal justice, expanding my career growth and development, and creating an influential, successful, and informed acquaintances circle with respect to penal fairness, equity, and justice. Table 1 below outlines the developed networking objectives and post-event analysis for effective comparative analysis. Overly, almost 95% of my networking goals and objectives were met, making the event somewhat successful. However, I socialized with seven people in the event, which was three-quarters of my expectations. This was due to the lengthy conversations we had with two of the people. Among the seven people, I acquired three prospective clients. I believe that if I had earlier on planned on how much time I wished to spend with every person, I would have achieved the target number of 10 people, which forms an issue of change and rectification next time. Concisely, these results highly show success and met objectives, which confirms what Munz-Jones (2016) states. According to Munz-Jones, prior knowledge and adequate planning are essential when networking  (Munz-Jones, 2016). In addition, the attendance of the event confirms Freedman (2013), who argues that having effective and SMART objectives shape one’s interaction strategy, focus, and energy in achieving desired goals, which actualizes visions (Freedman, 2013).

Table 1: NETWORKING OBJECTIVES

Conversational and Networking Strategy

Prior attending the event, the developed networking strategy was characterized by active participation, early arrival, establishing honest relationships, maintaining eye contact, and being knowledgeable in the information I shared. This strategy was useful, as I had acquired prior knowledge to remain being informed and ensure accurate and reliable information I shared. Four main approaches characterized the conversational strategy incorporated in the event: asking clear, relevant, specific open headed questions, active listening, seeking clarification, and clarifying understanding. These elements helped me avoid possible communication pitfalls, such as assuming in case, I did not hear or understand something my partner said. Active listening helped me understand responses and explanations made by my partners. This strategy was very successful (Horton, 2017). I was able to catch and remember names, titles, and contacts of the seven people I interacted with, in addition to recalling and understanding all responses and explanations during the conversation.

Networking is not as easy as we see in photos or movies, as communicating, the first impression, and maintaining a standard level of confidence that is portrayed not overly or minimally among strangers is challenging. However, having networking objectives, goals, as well as an effective plan and conversational strategy, can help shape one’s interaction strategy, focus, and energy in achieving desired goals, which actualizes visions (Freedman, 2013) Nevertheless, the event was a success for both PNI and me, as our developed goals and objectives were achieved maximally. For PNI, the turn up was as projected, and timekeeping was highly respected, which was one of the most impressive aspects. Each guest speaker was precise to the main points, lively, even though the session was more passive than I had anticipated. The networking session was well organized, though I could not risk overfeeding and drinking to avoid disruptions, which made me rather hungry. These were some of the challenges of maintaining standard and neutral composure. Generally, the event was a total success.

Follow Up

I socialized with seven people in the event, which was not fully achieved in respect to my expectations and objectives. However, I acquired three prospective clients; two confirmed and one prospect/unconfirmed partner. I made follow-up communication with the three contacts through an email, and phone calls, as seen below. Follow up communication is an integral part of effective networking, as information sharing can be done regularly, and building solid relationships (Freedman, 2013).  Each of this contact taught me imperative lessons such as effective networking, career advice, and appearing professional to impress and portray an unforgettable first-impression and communicating my elevation pitch professionally. One major lesson learned from Mr. Smith was that successful people sell value and not time. This statement is one of the most potent and plausible lessons that I have never encountered among people. Mr. Smith, Miss Christine, and Mr. James are valuable people in my present and future life, as being in communication with them maximizes my personal growth, professional development, and achievement of my visions, which forms conclusive and healthy contacts.

I emailed Miss Christine since, among my contact, she did not confirm her support of my organization, whereby, she asked to be emailed all necessary details. Below is a copy of the email.

Phone calls were made to Mr. James and MR. Smith as seen below.

(Show evidence like a screenshot of you trying to call the two number written above, then insert as pictures.)

References

Delaney, D. (2013). New Business Networking: How to Effectively Grow Your Business Network Using On-line and Off-line Methods. Indianapolis: Que.

Freedman, H. (2013, September 18). Effective networking: setting your objectives. Retrieved from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/careers/careers-blog/effective-networking-setting-your-objectives

Horton, W. S. (2017). Theories and Approaches to the Study of Conversation and Interactive Discourse. In A. B. M. F. Schober, Handbook of Discourse Processes, 2nd Edition. Routledge.

Munz-Jones, N. (2016). The Reluctant Networker: Giving you the tools and confidence to give networking a go. HotHovie Books.

PNI. (2020). About Us. Retrieved from https://www.penalreform.org/about-us/