Sunday, July 10, 2016

Who you know or what you know?

I once engaged in technical combat with a government agency. They said my technical approach was okay for hindcasting salinity in Galveston Bay, but not for forecasting salinity under a proposed deepening of the navigation channel.  It was a difference of opinion on a subject too technical for administrators to judge, so naturally it got bumped up the agency head, an attorney with no technical expertise. I got a call from his assistant, a woman I had helped with some technical questions years earlier.  Because she knew and trusted me, she called to get the inside story.  I told her my reasoning and explained my adversary’s reasoning. A short time later, the agency head said that my approach was appropriate and justified.

There’s some truth in the axiom, “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” What we engineers know is crucial to doing our jobs but often we think that’s all there is to it. This experience and many others showed me that we have to be technically competent, but often that’s not enough. Knowing the right people and having their trust is essential, too. We have to know both what and who.

Networking is one way to know the “who.” It requires effort. Join professional and civic societies, both local and national. Volunteer for committees and make a real contribution. (Becoming known as someone who is just padding a resume without actually working won’t help your career.)  Professional and civic organizations don’t pay for our time but sometimes can pay travel expenses, so our bosses have to be supportive, or at least not opposed, and we have to be prepared to donate our personal time.

Networking is the best way to find a job and a powerful tool in career building after you have the job. Networking gains new clients, educates us on both technical and professional issues, and provide a string of professional friendships that help in unexpected ways. Do it.


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