Social Networking - Old School

Over thirty years ago, Kay took a class in hotel / motel management.  There she met Barb and they developed an instant friendship.  Although Kay left that career path in favor of an MBA, the friendship between Kay and Barb flourished and they continued to regularly socialize.

Fast-forward to 2009.  Kay’s daughter Bridget was working for a small corporate communications firm when the economic meltdown surprised the world.  As her company collapsed, she eventually got laid-off.  In an effort to find another job, Bridget embraced social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn in her quest for a new and hopefully better job.  Kay, offered to search her own network of friends for any leads for Bridget.  Bridget reluctantly agreed figuring it couldn’t hurt, but had low expectations.

Kay contacted her long-time friend Barb to ask if her son might know of any job openings.  This is where I come in - Barb is my mom!  My mom cleverly deduced that since I work with computers, and Bridget worked in marketing for computers as an “Online Media Specialist,” perhaps there would be an opportunity for her at CityTech!  Not knowing what an “Online Media Specialist” is, I forwarded her resume to the powers that be at CityTech.  One thing lead to another and Bridget was hired as the CityTech Marketing Communications Manager!

The moral of the story:  The more things change, the more they stay the same!   While it is great to embrace technology, it shouldn’t be at the expense of developing relationships!  In this case the last place that Bridget would have expected a good job lead ended up being the best one.

Welcome aboard Bridget.  Here’s to the original social network, school!