Last week while shopping with my daughter for a homecoming dress, I began to talk with the sales associate outside the changing room. How did she like her job? How did she get hired? What did she enjoy about working there? My children hate it when I approach perfect strangers like this, but we had a great conversation, and I found out that she was friends with my other daughter’s boyfriend. One thing led to another and the next day my daughter met with the manager for an interview.

Another time while attending a seminar presented by a woman who specialized in writing executive resume portfolios, I was intrigued when she mentioned that many CIOs began their careers as accountants. My son is in college studying accounting and hopes to obtain a summer internship with a major accounting firm. After the seminar I approached her, complimented her on her superb presentation, and told her a little about my son. She related that another conference attendee’s husband works for a top accounting firm, and recommended that I talk to him. Both he and his wife were delightful and went out of their way to help. She told me a year ago a resume she had written for a college student seeking an accounting internship had been featured during the conference, and had resulted in an interview and a job offer for the student. She graciously emailed that sample resume to me on the spot. Her husband shared some informative inside information on his employer, and offered to give my son tips on securing an internship in his company as well as advice on the accounting profession in general. I immediately called my son so he could follow up.

Are you embarrassed to talk to strangers? People love talking about their jobs, and rarely do people in our me-centered society think to leave their comfort zone and make the first move. Not only can you learn details about about a profession, a company, and pros and cons of working there, but you also will be fostering and nurturing networking relationships that can last a lifetime.

During these informal conversations, don’t forget to offer help to others as well. Find out how your expertise may benefit them or someone they know. Nothing beats investing time in personal relationships, even if you do embarrass your kids in the process!

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