Graduate students, pre-grad students, and newly minted Ph.D.’s on the job market need to view the “social aspect” of SBL not as mere holiday gladness. Rather, we have to grab a hold of every social opportunity we possibly can in order to develop a network of colleagues with whom we feel comfortable conversing (and, perhaps, request advice and/or help down the road). Here are a few thoughts that I’ve had about networking in my short run at SBL meetings thus far–challenging tasks I am very much still developing. Hopefully these reflections are not limited solely to SBL, but the Annual Meeting certainly brings these issues to the forefront.
1. Go to the meeting!
I know, I know. It’s expensive. But have you taken notice of the job market out there? It is a blood bath. I don’t care if your doctoral advisor is Rudolf Bultmann reincarnated, or that Moses himself is your outside reader, you can’t afford not to be in the game. Think of the cost of the membership, registration, flight, hotel, food, etc., as an investment in your future (and current) career development. If you are a grad student in biblical studies or any of the closely related fields and you’re not going to the meeting, you’re shooting yourself in the foot. I probably shouldn’t say anything until I have a tenure track position and I won’t have you as competition anymore, but we grad students need to stick together.
2. Dress the part. Even on the way there and back.
The idea is that we want people to take us more seriously. If we dress down, we risk looking unprofessional and as if we don’t really care. We risk looking sloppy. Also, if you dress down, your fellow grad students may view you as a liability when they want to wander around and meet scholars. Even when you’re traveling, I would at least try not to look like a slob. I can’t tell you how many scholars I have seen on flights, airport shuttles, subways, and trains. The year before enrolling at UCLA, I ran into my potential (and now current) advisor on the train from LA down to San Diego. Any moment of the entire journey could be one of the biggest breaks for you of the whole conference.
3. Getting to know other graduate students is not a waste of time.
It may feel as if going to the student reception or otherwise getting to know other grad students is not worth your efforts when there are bigger fish to fry. That’s a mistake, especially if you make that kind of attitude apparent. Networking with other grad students goes a long way. Other grad students know people that you don’t know, oftentimes very important people, perhaps even people that would have immediate importance for your own research. Never underestimate the power and potential of an introduction by another grad student. That’s besides the fact that most grad students are often just fun to be around and share your burdens with.
4. Networking works better with a “wingman” or “wingwoman,” so to speak.
For a number of reasons, it is helpful to team up with a fellow grad student for networking. Chief among them is the confidence that comes from shared determination. Now, if your teammate is not as interested as you in meeting and talking with new people, then that could actually work against you. Other reasons abound. As mentioned, your friends may know people that you don’t know. Further, they may actually have a better basis for conversation than you have. They may be closer to the specialty of this particular scholar and you can ride on their conversational coattails, letting them take the lead.
You can also make sacrifices for one another. In Atlanta, a good friend of mine really wanted to talk to one of his academic idols at a reception, but had gotten roped into a conversation with some random guy talking to him about things he didn’t really care about. He was being nice, but I could tell that he really wanted to break away somehow and talk to his idol. So, I struck up a conversation with this random guy. My friend excused himself to go grab a glass of wine and come back to position himself closer to his real conversational target. In the end, he had one of the most amazing conversations of his academic career. Sometimes you take one for the team. Others have done the same for me.
Finally, this concept is important for the simple reason that it is difficult to walk into a reception by yourself. If there is no current opportunity to jump into a conversation with some important scholar, then your default is to chat it up with one another. You don’t have to look like a dunce sipping wine, coke, or water as you awkwardly study the wallpaper pattern, waiting for the right moment to make a move–some move, any move. The risk here is that such peer to peer conversation can be so comfortable that you may take your eyes off the prize and lose your resolve to make a lot of quality connections beyond your close friends.
5. Don’t aim your sights too high.
Try not to aim to meet only huge names, especially those folks whose reputations earn them clouds of drooling followers at every annual meeting. My successful networking friends aim for those people who are generally either up-and-coming scholars and therefore ecstatic to have someone interested in their work, or people who are well-established but in a fairly specialized subfield that doesn’t typically pack a room. If you know something about that subfield, you have an opportunity for conversation. Headliners may be perfectly accessible in conversation, but by virtue of their popularity and limited free time, are difficult to get an audience with. Even if you do get an audience with a big-timer, just remember how many other people they talk to. Even if they’re super nice, it may be easy for them to forget you. I speak from experience!
6. Don’t let yourself get too intimidated.
On the other hand, big name scholars are human beings. They may be the stars of the show in our little world, but they typically enjoy a good conversation. Some headliners are more approachable than others, of course, and are happy to talk about pretty much anything of interest with you. Others may be less interested to spend their time talking to an unknown entity and would prefer to reserve their conversation for fellow elites . . . or, just people they know instead of people they don’t. Give it a shot. If it doesn’t work out, move on to someone else. Don’t beat yourself up and analyze every stupid thing you said or think about how you could have been so much wittier. Again, speaking from experience here.
7. Show humility and appropriate deference.
While it’s good to be confident, humility goes a long way. Even if you feel like you belong at the adults’ table and can mix it up with the best of the best, don’t let on how confident you are of yourself. Nobody likes an arrogant _____. If you’re pretty sure that a big name person should know who you are because of some session in which you presented, or a conversation you had with them two years ago, it’s good form to open with something like, “You may not remember me, but . . .” instead of “Hey, what’s up? How’s the fam?” Also, even if you think their theory of such and such is total rubbish, try to flatter them and highlight the positives.
8. Don’t come off as desperate.
Perhaps the person you’re talking to could be instrumental in getting you into a graduate program. Perhaps they might be a connection at a journal or monograph series in which you hope to get published. Maybe someone you hope might be a future colleague. The rule is: humility/deference is good; desperation is bad. If you come off as needy and nervous, just looking to get something out of this person for your own benefit, they probably will have no interest in talking with you. Relax. Remember your shared humanity.
9. Make yourself seem relevant to the person you’re talking to.
“Your dissertation fundamentally transformed the direction of my own work.” “Your article on the ________ was exactly what I was looking for in my search for methodology.” Don’t just say “I love your stuff. It’s totally awesome.” Have some insight, and preferably, some personal connection to their work. Be prepared with intriguing questions that might get them thinking. Be specific, though not overly so. Talking about work can be boring at receptions, but if it is clear that you are engaging their ideas in an exciting way, that may draw them in.
On the flip side, if you feel like you can’t currently make yourself relevant or engage in an intelligent discussion with the person, it may be worth letting this possible connection slide for the moment. I have some people that are closely associated with my work that I haven’t sought out yet, in part because I’d like to get a better handle on their work. I would prefer not to look like an idiot. This is in part because of where I’m at in my research. I’m still pre-exams. After I get through my exams, I don’t think this flip side of the rule will apply anymore. This one is more of a personal judgment call.
10. Never eat alone.
There is actually a bestselling book on networking with this very title. While it is great to get those momentary connections in the hotel lobby, the book exhibition, or the Sheffield reception, building relationships requires the need to have longer conversations. Before the conference, I try to contact several people with whom I’d like to stay connected and don’t otherwise have much time to converse with. I also contact people that I have had some initial contact with and would like to build a stronger connection. If you frame the request as a desire to “touch base” on some issue or gain insight from their expertise (which is probably accurate), rather than just “hey, let’s party,” then you may have more success. These are often the best moments of the entire conference for me. Yes, it’s networking and intentional relationship-building, but it’s also a delight to share a meal or coffee/tea with someone whose company you enjoy.
11. Try to follow-up. Soon.
If you make a sufficient connection with someone, so that you believe you could contact them, then do it. At the bare minimum, email them and thank them for their time and let them know how much you appreciate their work and their conversation. Do it soon. Perhaps they invited you to share your work with them. If you feel comfortable sharing, you should do it as soon as you feel comfortable. Consider them as potential contacts for when you have questions or issues that come up. Don’t waste these resources on things you clearly could have looked up on your own, but for truly complicated matters for which they have expertise, consider contacting them when you’re in a pickle. You’ll have to gauge the level of connection you had with them, and their willingness to hear from some random grad student.
Final thoughts
Listen, this may all sound cold and calculating. Strategizing your networking often does, but many of us academic types are introverts at heart and strategy is required. It’s a jungle out there and we need to make ourselves known. Take risks. Last year, my friend invited a big name in biblical studies to have lunch with us as he was waiting around for his flight on Tuesday afternoon. It worked. In other moments, I have been both politely and rudely blown off. Those moments sting, and they stay with you. But the potential rewards are worth the potential rejection.
On the flip side, even if this does sound like overly-strategized calculation, it doesn’t have to be. Even when I’m trying to make new connections and even impress my new contacts, I’m having a lot of fun with them. This person isn’t just a piece of meat. They are a fellow sojourner in this crazy field, often with much wisdom to impart and camaraderie to share.
Finally, I’m no expert at this stuff, by any means. If you have any additional tidbits, please do share them! Or if you think I missed the mark, which is entirely plausible, then let it be known.
Theorizing ancient texts (and thus problematizing traditional scholarly narratives given for explaining such texts) seems to divide a lot of scholars. There are quite a few who just don’t want to bother with all this theory stuff, and its unnecessary jargon (so they perceive), and just continue along in the exegetical search of an author’s intention with little sprinkles of “historical background” for good measure. One may even find this to be the dominant perspective at SBL conferences, and not just by those working from an explicitly confessional perspective. At the same time, there is an ever-growing group of scholars of ancient texts (including biblical ones) who see various theoretical approaches and methodological considerations as essential for explaining the social functions of ancient texts.
Using the resources of UCLA, my home institution, I have recently digitized two books. But before I get ahead of myself, I should probably tell you why I would care to do such a thing.
