"Women in Animation's: "Networking for People Who Hate Networking"
I'm very grateful to have been asked to share as a fellow panelist for Women In Animation's recent panel! The panelists included Kelly Cooney (Co-Producer, Trolls), Kendall Haney (Writer, The Lion Guard), Nora Johnson (Story Board Artist), myself Jenn Meyer (Google, Mattel, Disney), and was created and moderated by my good friend Aydrea Walden ( Black Girl Big Dress, Dreamworks Animation).
We all discussed our various networking techniques, snafus & blunders, and lessons learned along the way. Biggest takeaway? The beauty of networking is to meet people without expectation. Make sure you find a commonality and when you do decide to reach out - keep it light. Relationships take time to develop and keeping in touch is key. You keep tabs with updates - once that kind of relationship has been established. Sometimes networking means years of staying in touch, learning from someone, and maybe a job or another valuable connection. Also sometimes people are too busy in their careers and you need to find others who have more to offer in that way. Make sure to laugh and have fun along the way.