Dear EDN,
Every time I meet someone in a professional or networking context, I always get the question “Where are you from?” I’m always torn between stating where I grew up, where I live, and also wanting to represent Eritrea… how should I approach this in the professional world?
PS: I love the newsletter!
Sincerely,
Dazed & Confused
Dear Reader,
This is a great question, and one that I struggled with myself until I deconstructed what the person asking the question wants to know. In a networking context, you have about 15 seconds per question to state your value proposition to your listener. So, in this case, the “Where are you from?” question really translates to “Are you located somewhere of interest to me/my business/ my organization…”.
My recommendation is to always start with where you live/work/go to school. Then give context on where you grew up (if it is somewhere different from where you are). You only need to bring up the fact that you are Eritrean if directly asked, or if it makes sense in the flow of the conversation.
When you are out networking, you have to remember that your listener’s attention span is just as short as yours. If you are at a recruiting event the attention span is even shorter since you are likely the 50th person that they are talking to in the span of a few hours. You really want to hone in on what is important for that person to know in terms of furthering your own goals.
If after a couple minutes your listener is well versed in Eritrean geography and social characteristics – but still doesn’t know anything about YOU in particular, then you really haven’t done yourself a favor.
I think that we, as a diaspora that is passionate about our mother country, always feel the need to “represent” for Eritrea. This is a beautiful thing, and I don’t want to discourage that. However, it may be best left for the follow up conversation that you have with someone over the phone, or at a coffee shop. You have more time to get into specifics in these more intimate settings, and I’ve found that showing your passion for something (say, a country) after someone already knows what you bring to the table can make them admire you more.
In general, the primary cause of poor networking is a lack of preparation. Before you go to the event, you should know your story and what you hope to accomplish while there. You need to be able to tell what you’ve done, why you’ve done it, what you want to do, and why you want to do it in a really succinct way. As corny as it may seem, practice it. A solid elevator pitch can really be the difference between holding someone’s interest to further the conversation, and being just another stumbling, bumbling face in the crowd.
Sincerely,
EDN Professional Development Team