Two mayors, a former New England Patriot, and a student on the rise told students, parents, and local businesspeople yesterday the importance of networking and developing career relationships.
"Networking is something we feel is a life skill that everybody should learn," said Stephen Brown, president of the Waltham chapter of Business Networking International Accelerators, which hosted the event at Gann Academy.
The inaugural Bring a Young Person to Networking Day allowed students, ages 13 and older, to learn the importance of accumulating contacts at a young age.
"It's not what you know, it's who you know," said Brown. "The time to start making contacts is while you're in school."
BNI is a world-renowned business networking organization, offering its members the opportunity to share ideas and business referrals. The local chapter comprises representatives from several local businesses, including the Village Bank and the Patriot Financial Group, which helped sponsor the event.
Mayors Jeannette A. McCarthy of Waltham and David B. Cohen of Newton, as well as former Patriots' offensive lineman Len St. Jean, spoke about how networking helped them throughout their education and early careers.
McCarthy began speaking about the universal issue of what kids want to do when they grow up. "Most kids don't have a clue," she said. "Neither did I."
She said the professional relationships she's made over the years didn't come easy. She began her career simply by knocking on doors to meet people.
After several years in the city's Law Department and as a member of the School Committee, she finally ran for mayor.
"I'm very fortunate to have gone from no contacts in life, knocking on doors, to the position of having 1,500 employees," McCarthy said.
Cohen said networking and building contacts should not be a simple smile and handshake, but more personal.
"I think that networking is a subset of a philosophy of life," Cohen said. "It's more than just handing out your business card wherever you go. It's taking a sincere interested in what people are saying, and what they have to offer. My overall advice is it is always good to have positive interactions with people. You never know how (they) may come back to help you."
St. Jean said knowing the right people helped him from his time as a student at Northern Michigan University to playing for the Patriots for nearly a decade, to working in sales in the electronics industry since his career ended with the Pats in 1974.
Cory Cameron, graduate of the Ron Burton Training Village in Hubbardston, a facility that helps boys 11-17 years old achieve spiritual, physical and educational growth, talked about sincerity and being kind.
"It's more about loving other people, being humble, being kind to other kids," said Cameron, 19, a sophomore at Northern Michigan, where he received a full scholarship awarded by the Training Village for his achievements.
The speakers words reached the ears of several students in attendance, including Brown's son Nate.
"I'll start thinking about it (networking) now," said the 13-year-old student at Solomon Schechter Day School in Newton. "This was kind of a kick start in a way."
Alyssa MacKinnon, 13, a student at E.W. Thurston Middle School in Westwood, whose mother works for the Patriot Financial Group, said McCarthy's story had the most resonance.
"I think that a lot of people had different stories that made them seem like they wanted to work hard," she said. "How she kind of went to a lot of different places and kept trying even though a lot of the people turned her down, how she worked hard and kept at it."
To help students network, BNI and the Village Bank also announced yesterday an internship program which will take place at the bank next summer and will require a thoughtful application process.
Candidates for the internship will have to demonstrate networking skills by interviewing three people: a community leader, a humanitarian leader (for religious or other nonprofit organization), and a business leader. More information will be released to students in the coming months.
Matt Perkins can be reached at 781-398-8009 or at mperkins@cnc.com.
