Boutique Design - January/February 2009 - (Page 36)

IN FOCUS The of NETWORKING IT’S ALL ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP BY KELLY HUSHIN Do’s Don’ts and B y now you’re probably thinking, “Ok, enough about the economy. It’s bad. We get it.” As it turns out, there’s a lot more to “get” than its stability. What’s more important to get is how to make yourself stand out in the crowd if you’re one of the crash victims. The best way to do that — especially if you’re a design professional — is to master the art of networking. In the last issue of BD, Nadia Roberts from Interior Talent touched on the importance of networking, but this time we’ve gotten down to the nitty gritty of this allimportant skill. It’s a topic that seems like a given. If you’re looking for work, you network your butt off and you’ll surely find something, right? Not so much. As we have learned from a career coach and an IIDA board of directors member, networking is as much an art as design, and not everyone is a natural. According to Viveca Bissonnette, any event can be an opportunity for networking. Viveca is an associate at Carrier Johnson + CULTURE and the vice president of communications on IIDA’s international board of directors. “Any event geared around bringing 36 • boutique DESIGN january/february 2009 together colleagues or business associates is an opportunity for networking,” she says. “There is an opportunity to forge potential business relationships in any setting.” While that may be true, career coach Win Sheffield warns that networking should never be approached with the expectation that you’ll be “getting something” for your efforts. “If someone comes up to you and says, ‘I’m looking for a job,’ what are you going to say?” asks Win. Answering his own question he says, “Nine times out of ten, ‘Sorry, I don’t have one.’” According to Win, networking really should be about relationships and not about what you can directly gain from meeting someone. “Good networking is about establishing

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Boutique Design - January/February 2009

Boutique Design - January/February 2009
Contents
Boutique Buzz
Designer’s Eye
Ian Schrager on Edition, His Partnership with Marriott
Business Sense
Niche. Improvement. Escape. The State of the Industry: Now and the Future
Industry Research
Three Firms Fight On
Designology
The Do’s and Don’ts of Networking
Simeone Deary Design
Haute Suites
Shopping the Market: Tabletop
Shopping the Market: Seating
Jeffrey S. Degen, AIA On Reasons Why the Time is Right for Hotel Development
Wanda Jankowski Speaks to Karen Daroff about Bathroom Trends
Calendar/ Advertisers Index

Boutique Design - January/February 2009