{"id":1548,"date":"2015-02-20T10:15:02","date_gmt":"2015-02-20T14:15:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/career-center\/?p=1548"},"modified":"2015-02-20T10:15:02","modified_gmt":"2015-02-20T14:15:02","slug":"savvy-seniors-whats-networking-got-to-do-with-it-a-career-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/career-center\/savvy-seniors-whats-networking-got-to-do-with-it-a-career-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"Savvy Seniors: What\u2019s Networking Got To Do With It? A Career Journey"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"FM<\/a><\/p>\n

Chapter 1: Finding Focus<\/strong><\/p>\n

I entered college knowing exactly what I thought<\/em> I wanted to study. Like many, I left college pursuing a very different path and preparing for a very different career than I had imagined. Subsequently, I earned a professional degree from UVM (a M.Ed.) and was on track for a career in higher education. Working with college-aged students in an educational setting was a dream come true.<\/p>\n

Chapter 2: Trying Something New<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fast-forward almost 6 years: I yearned to keep growing and learning, to hone my skills and gain more professional responsibilities. One day I stumbled upon a part-time position planning and marketing for the Vermont Cheesemakers Festival. It seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up \u2013 a part-time position which would allow me to test new professional waters, meet a new community in Vermont and put my event planning and marketing skills to work in a new setting. Not to mention: Vermont cheese.<\/p>\n

Chapter 3: Making New Connections<\/strong><\/p>\n

I applied, interviewed and was subsequently hired. The work was an enriching diversion from my full time position at UVM \u2013 it offered me a new context in which to grow and introduced me to some of the most amazing food entrepreneurs in the state. While working for the Cheesemakers of Vermont, I was unwittingly building a new network. This network consisted of farmers, producers, and marketing professionals. Six months later I was recruited by one of these contacts – Vermont Creamery – to manage their marketing program full time.<\/p>\n

The takeaway? <\/strong><\/p>\n

While I wouldn\u2019t recommend working 60+ hour weeks across two jobs, my experience highlights the many forms networking can assume. Working a part time job, volunteering, or informational interviewing are all ways that networking can happen.\u00a0\u00a0 The past year and a half has taken me to new places, pushed me to grow quickly and ultimately charted a path for a career I love and never could have previously imagined. Networking opened the door.<\/p>\n

Most career journeys require one-part focus, one-part flexibility, and three-parts people. Follow your interests, bring your authentic self, and you never know what might unfold.<\/p>\n

Good luck!<\/p>\n

~FM Munoz<\/em>
\nMarketing Coordinator
\nVermont Creamery
\nhttp:\/\/www.vermontcreamery.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chapter 1: Finding Focus I entered college knowing exactly what I thought I wanted to study. Like many, I left college pursuing a very different path and preparing for a very different career than I had imagined. Subsequently, I earned a professional degree from UVM (a M.Ed.) and was on track for a career in … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Savvy Seniors: What\u2019s Networking Got To Do With It? A Career Journey”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":832,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[127021,129667,6901,5196,1],"tags":[116804,33374,5702,131420,132056,53474,603,135871,46457,138816,569,137426,660,528],"class_list":["post-1548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-career-exploration","category-job-searching","category-networking","category-staff","category-uncategorized","tag-advice","tag-alumni","tag-burlington","tag-career","tag-career-path","tag-experience","tag-how-to","tag-job-search","tag-jobs","tag-networking","tag-photos","tag-savvy-seniors","tag-search","tag-tips","entry"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"career","author_link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/career-center\/author\/career\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/career-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1548","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/career-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/career-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/career-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/832"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/career-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1548"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/career-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1548\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1550,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/career-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1548\/revisions\/1550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/career-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/career-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/career-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}