There was an article done years ago that pointed out folks who’s job started during a recession generally earned far less over their careers. There’s a lot of reasons for this, but a big one is that folks don’t generally discuss their salaries so they have no idea if they’re being grossly over or under paid.
i can’t help but wonder if we’re overlooking a huge hurdle for folks starting out now, in the midsts of a global pandemic. In short: Are they missing out on peer networking?
Let me be open and say that i’m an introvert. i’ve trained myself to be sociable and can present as extrovert when needed, but it’s draining and not really my happy place. That said, i’ve still built up reasonably good relationships with folks i’ve worked with. i’m sure that some dude in a pressed white shirt and lavalier mic would proclaim this as “Networking”, but it’s something that i’ve kinda fostered and benefited from. A good many of those are with folks i’ve not directly worked with on a project, but have been folks who’ve i’ve had parallels with. i may have met them at a meeting, or in a few cases, at an offsite. Maybe it’s been one of those “Fellows in Arms” where we’ve all done some terrible group improvement class being directed by a dude in a pressed white shirt and lavalier mic.
With a year of “social distancing” and zoom meetings, that’s one less year of building the sort of work network that’s going to be critical to getting better positions, or be a lifeline when the layoff axes start falling. What’s worse is that video meetings are tiring and terrible as is, so the thought of doing them outside of work isn’t really going to be super appealing. Nor are junior folk going to see how beneficial they can be from more senior folk dragging them off to some semi-casual meet-up.
Plus, conferences and big get-togethers are probably not going to be happening for years to come. Sure, it was funny how you’d catch Con-Flu after a meet-up, but that didn’t carry the risk of killing you or doing serious, long lasting bodily harm. i’m going to guess that it’s going to be a while before insurance companies reduce the liability costs for those.
Humans, even the more anti-social of us, are social creatures. We think in tribes and communities.
If you’re a junior person, don’t neglect this. Reach out to mentors and peers to find and establish networks.
If you’re a senior person, watch out for the junior folks. Maybe introduce them to some of your larger nets the way you would at a conference.
Eventually the pandemic will go away, let’s make sure the damage done isn’t worse than it already is.
