December 2005 – Success Story: A week in the world of networking
Tuesday, 18 October 2005 started out like any other day for me in my new hometown of Milan. I moved here in December 2004 from Minneapolis, USA, with my husband, whose career path brought us both here. I came knowing full well that it would not be easy to find a job. But we had made our decision and I was optimistic about finding opportunities that would take advantage of my experience in marketing. By now the excitement of moving to a new country and having my days free to explore my surroundings were giving way to a realization that this was indeed my new life and I didn’t know what to do with it! I had been out of work for longer than I had ever been since I was 15 years old; I knew I needed a fresh challenge, but didn’t know how to go about finding one.That Tuesday morning, I went to a Benvenuto Club coffee meeting, where my friend Andrea Wiarda – whom I had met through PWA – told me about a job opportunity that might be of interest. She called fellow PWA member Carolyn Wade, who had told her about it, and passed me the phone. Carolyn explained that SDA Bocconi University’s Alumni Association (AMSDA) was seeking someone to help grow the Alumni Network, including building the website and developing other tools. Since I love to network and was familiar with the reputation of Bocconi, I was happy to comply immediately with her request to forward her my CV. That same afternoon, I received a telephone call from a staff member of SDA Alumni Relations to schedule an interview for the following day.
When I met with the AMSDA board member and hiring manager the following afternoon, he had already received a reference from Carolyn. The interview went well, and he told me the next step would be to meet the President of AMSDA. Forty-eight hours later, the appointment was set up.
On Monday, 24 October at 4 p.m., I arrived for my second interview. An hour later, I was being welcomed to the team and asked to start the next morning at nine! Tuesday, 25 October seemed a world away from the Tuesday only one week prior, which had seemed like any other day, but in fact was the beginning of a bright new phase in my Italian life.
On Wednesday 26th, I attended a PWA Networking aperitivo where I looked forward to meeting and thanking Carolyn for her helpful role in my story. She in turn introduced me to fellow PWA member Pilar Chaparro and SDA Bocconi employee, who had told Carolyn about the opening. Without the networking that brought me to Andrea, Carolyn and Pilar, I wouldn’t have now my wonderful new job, which I truly love.
Monica Prom
PWA Member
Tags: Monica Prom, Networking, PWA, SDA Bocconi, women