I never believed in the art of networking. And so I didn’t do it. My talents and abilities will one day be recognized, I thought, and there were
enough people who seemed to share the same belief system: “Oh, no, I don’t network. Awful.” “Going to parties just to network. How ghastly.” I had to become a mature woman to realize that it is often a lie, not a bad one, just a white one, and especially people who insist they don’t network all network like hell and that’s one of the pillars of their success.
I have changed. I am now a networking queen. Or at least I am trying.
Tomorrow I am flying to the beautiful Austrian town of Klagenfurt to attend a German literary festival. Every year the prestigious Ingeborg-Bachmann prize is awarded there. Last year I went for the first time. Although it’s an important event it is not a big one in terms of numbers. Perhaps 150 to 200 all told - writers, journalists, publishers, audience. That also means it’s a very hard place to make contacts - full of insiders and very few outsiders. I was an outsider. On the second day at around 6pm the urge overcame me to get away from all this standing-alone, trying-to-chat-to-people, smiling-at-them-in-full- knowledge-that-they-don’t-want-to-talk-to-you and I ran back to my hotel room, wanting to hide under my pillow. However, just as I was putting the key into the door, a voice in my head ordered me back to the action, after all I didn’t spend all this money for flight and hotel to actually end up in my room at 6pm.
So back I went. Only to find that no one was there any longer! As if the earth had open up and swallowed the lot. Klagenfurt is not a big town, the walk to and from my hotel took me half an hour. There is one pedestrian area where all the restaurants are. I walked it up and down, sneakily looking into the windows but noone was to be seen. Eventually I did go back to my hotel, took my swimming costume and decided to go swimming in the lake. What else was there to do?!
It was one of those evenings where after an extremely humid day the sky was now grey and very low and very solid. Thus, I swam in the grey lake with the grey sky pressing down on me, drowning in self-pity and loneliness and if it hadn’t been for the thought of my children who I just couldn’t let grow up without a mother, I really felt it wouldn’t have mattered if I had disappeared at the bottom of the lake. Anyway, I eventually got out. As I headed back to the hotel, I noticed a lit castle-like building on top of one of the hills overlooking the lake. Someone clearly was having a good time!
Next day everybody was back again. We listened to more literature, had some more discussions, I met more people. And then someone actually came up to me. “Where were you last night?”, she asked. I must have looked surprised. “There was the big dinner up at the castle. I am sure you were invited too.”
Last year I didn’t make it to the castle. I had forgotten to register with the festival organisers. Clearly, the networking queen had a steep learning curve to undergo. And indeed she has. This year I am going with the full intention to make it to the party!