04-19-2024
Networking is an art. For Dhrumil Gala, it was his window of opportunity.
Gala, a 2023 Master’s in Global Supply Chain Management graduate, attended the EDGE Conference in October 2023 with other select students from the Daniels School of Business. Gala and Vaishali Vyas, Yu Chen, Nidhi Mishra, Manasa Musham, Kirinmayi Bandi, Krushna Vyas, Gopi Jangiti, Vaibhav Gholap and Rishi Jain were honored to be named EDGE Future Leaders. They received more than $2,000 to cover travel and expenses.
“I was very grateful. I felt lucky,” Gala says, as he remembers his emotions upon hearing about his selection to attend as an EDGE Future Leader. The conference, held in Kissimmee, Florida, brought together nearly 2,000 individuals in the field of supply chain management, creating an opportunity of a lifetime for graduate students. The EDGE Conference included roundtables, networking luncheons and town halls that enabled attendees to have exclusive access to professionals with shared interests and facilitated focused networking opportunities with them. Gala explains that the conference proved to be a “great tool for international students and professionals starting out in a new country.”
The EDGE Conference, hosted by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), is a hub for individuals with decades of expertise and specialization in supply chain management, and in a crowd of such high value, some individuals can feel overwhelmed. Gala recognizes this and says “there is always hesitation when you attempt to walk up to someone and introduce yourself, it’s natural, but you have to do it. Because once you do, conversations just flow.”
Through various conversations, Gala and his classmates were able to realistically assess their capabilities and aptitude, enabling them to present their skills effectively and be taken more seriously moving forward. This conference proved to be the pivot that they were chasing to explore supply chain management with added depth and achieve greater success in the field.
At the conference, Gala learned that networking “almost has a compounding effect.” One connection leads to another, facilitating endless webs of conversation between seasoned professionals. The EDGE Conference solidified these links, allowing Gala to experience the value of connecting with industry veterans.
For students, the abundance of networking opportunities online makes it difficult to determine where to start. Gala explains that as an international student, he found it especially challenging to discover networks that best suited him and his interests. While platforms like LinkedIn do exist, they are not as efficient as face-to-face, focused, and intentional conversations with people you value – a void in Gala’s job search and professional growth that the EDGE Conference helped fill.
“A conversation over LinkedIn does not match the impact of talking in person. Eye contact, body language, and feeding off another person’s energy matter. It just makes conversing a lot easier,” says Gala.
On LinkedIn, “you can reach out to hundreds of people, but only five, six or seven will respond,” clarifies Gala. In turn, this slows down the job search process and makes it increasingly difficult to navigate the job market. However, attending the EDGE conference planted roots for long-term, mutually beneficial corporate relationships that Gala could leverage to benefit his job prospects.
“Now, I’m able to reach out to people in different ways because I’ve gotten to know them as opposed to messaging someone for the first time through LinkedIn." — Dhrumil Gala
Attending the conference also allowed Gala to take advantage of exclusive access to recruiters, his dream companies, and future connections. Being able to communicate directly with industry professionals in an environment that fostered proactive conversations, allowed Gala to impactfully engage with employers in a more personalized way; showcasing his strengths and increasing his chances of making a positive impression during the recruitment process.
“I was able to personally introduce myself to the VP of Human Resources and Chief Marketing Officers of some companies. That gets your foot in the door. If you’re able to talk to the human resource manager of a multibillion-dollar company and are successful enough to make a good impression, a job follows,” explains Gala.
Gala also elaborated that the conference allowed him to build a rapport with the recruiters he spoke to because he had an avenue to demonstrate his soft skills. How he presented himself, handled conversations, and interacted with others were aspects that significantly impacted the impression he made.
One effective connection is worth more than a hundred blind messages, and Gala experienced the truth in that first-hand when he utilized his social circle and environment to the fullest.
“There were people with me that knew other people. I had a friend from Purdue and I could meet with employees of his firm and other recruiters directly.”
Not only did Gala have the chance to initiate conversations, but he also had the pleasure of conversations being initiated with him. By also choosing to volunteer at the event and having knowledge of the event, “people felt comfortable initiating conversations” with him. “These conversations may not open doors for you now, or 2 years later, but they will take you where you want to go eventually,” explains Gala.
