Don’t Confuse Networking Events and Singles Events
Why you shouldn’t be thinking about hooking up when you’re making business contacts
When you spend such a large portion of your life at work and in a professional setting, it seems that if you’re single and looking, meeting a romantic partner during business hours is inevitable. While I’m a firm believer in organic connections, business settings are not the place to foster those connections. At least, not right out of the gate.
As networking meetings have shifted from early coffee to evening happy hours, the overall tone of these events has changed dramatically. They have gotten more casual and social, and as a result, a little more friendly. We don’t just present ourselves with our professional biography, we let our hair down a little bit and show our human side as well.
We use the opportunity to connect and find common ground with people, but what I’ve started to see more recently is that happy hour events feel more like hitting the bar on a Saturday night. Everyone is looking to connect—but they are interested in making the wrong kind of connection, and a line inevitably ends up getting crossed.
Recently, I attended a closing night party for an annual weeklong event that happens in Denver. We had spent the week attending…
