Courtney Bousquet
Contributor, Career Services
Over the holidays I decided to take the plunge and attend my first high school reunion. While it had been over 10 years since I’d seen most of the people there, I thought it would be a good way to reconnect with my youth and remember good times. To be honest, I think I had more nerves driving to the venue than I had on my wedding day, despite the fact that I got along with the majority of the 124 people with whom I graduated.
After the initial awkwardness that we all experienced, the evening went well and everyone was laughing and learning about what we had all been up to the since graduation. It was incredible to see the amazing accomplishments that people had achieved: JD’s, Ph.D.’s, high-powered positions, babies and more. While I was re-learning about the people I grew up with, I started thinking about the ways one could use their childhood connections to grown and learn professionally. In addition to reconnecting, I was able to learn about the variety of industries and positions that my peers had entered and their many accomplishments, more so than through social media alone.
Through Facebook and other social media sites, it has become far easier to follow people’s lives after parting ways at 18, which in turn, has made it easier to start a conversation. I don’t know how many times I heard, “Oh I saw on Facebook you did this,” or “How is your family?” You now have these built-in ways to start a conversation, a source from which information about what the person is doing and any future plans they may have constantly pours. Depending upon the situation, you can keep in touch with these connections and ask them how they got started in their field and profession. If you are able to keep in touch, and subtly let them know that you’re job searching or looking for a way to change careers, they may let you know when they hear about something prior to it being posted. While in no way should you ask for a job, you can casually mention your career aspirations and that you are looking for a change. See what comes from it! Oftentimes it is the people with whom we have not spoken in ages that are willing to lend a hand.
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