Some Experiences Cannot Be Had at a Distance: The Importance of Face-to-Face Settings for Building Professional Networking Skills

Abstract- Marketing education is an area in which students not only learn the discipline, they learn how to “market themselves ” to achieve professional goals and objectives. It is particularly important that this group of young professionals are explicitly forced out of their “social media ” mindsets and into a venue of explicit face-to-face human interaction. Without this “in-the-flesh ” experience, they could become more entrenched in their cyber-worlds, remaining oblivious to the fact that in-person interaction is not always as intimidating as they might perceive, but does require initiative on their part. This paper describes the development of a professional networking event designed to enhance students ’ soft skills. Responses from participants of the event highlight the degree to which face-to-face interaction between professionals and students is an unrivaled learning tool