Social Events with Coworkers
Last week I organized the annual lab barbeque for my research group. My research group has eight professors, their students, and assorted staff, so it’s a fairly big event. We rent out a BBQ pit, make a Costco run for food (burgers, bratwurst, peppers and corn for roasting, watermelon, chips and dip, etc.), and this year we brought a volleyball net. Actually by the end of the evening we had a six-on-six game going, which is pretty good for a group of non-athletic people! The event was low-key, easy (it’s just food and a volleyball net!) and everyone had a good time. In short, it was a good bonding experience, as social events with your coworkers are supposed to be. But it’s not always that way. Candid Engineer has talked about her lab group’s annual beach party, and the summary is that any event involving bikinis and coworkers is a…
Networking: More Terrible Jargon
I’m Back! And if last week’s post didn’t get me kicked off Engineer Blogs guest blogger list, this one might! This week’s Theme is Networking and I’m much more snarky when it comes to this topic. Networking is great when it’s a CAT5 cable because your wireless is on the fritz. Otherwise, I severely dislike the word networking. I put words/phrases like a networking event, functionalized, a setup was realized, think outside the box, and mission statements in the category “don’t ever use” if you want to be taken seriously. (I mean, would you take me seriously if I had the GEARS Mission Statement: Realizing novel, functionalized instruments to expand your networking tools by thinking outside the box to create paradigm shifts? I know I wouldn’t.) The reason I don’t take marketing/business jargon like build your network or expand your network seriously is because the aspect of obtaining a network is treated…