The Arsenio Hall Show And The Importance of Networking...

with people you already know. Arsenio Hall is a man many of us know from his popular late night television show that aired from 1989 to 1994. Not only was he a television host/comedian, but he was great reporter. He was so good that after 19 years The Arsenio Hall Show is back on air.

Not only is The Arsenio Hall Show back on our television screens. In five days, he managed to interview only A-list stars. During Wednesday's show he even pulled out an old clip of when he first interviewed Magic Johnson. Magic Johnson was sitting on his couch watching his younger self be interviewed and they laughed together at it. They also discussed what was said then and how it has all been achieved.

It was amazing, but not because of the comparison. It was also fantastic to see how Arsenio was able to sit people that he already knew on his couch and have a fresh perspective. People tuned in to all of it too. In fact several articles are saying his late night show beat out all of the others in numbers for his first week back. This is why I think it's important to network with people you already know.

See, a conversation about applying to jobs came up between a friend and I. She felt that we need to be networking with FAMU alumni to get ahead. Well, she feels like we need to meet new people who went to the same school as us, but graduated years earlier and are successful now. Those people can get us ahead, according to her. However, I disagree.

When I came back to the city of Houston, I initially started going to the alumni meetings. Before attending many of the people there either already knew me or knew of me. My father used to be the president between handing the spot down to someone younger. They knew me even if they didn't know what I had went to school for. They also knew I was fresh out of college and having trouble finding a job. I tried networking. I wanted so badly to keep in touch with them all, but none of them wanted to help. Many of them clung to who they already knew, or who had the same time of career as them.

However, in meeting people in the field I want to be in and staying in touch with people going down the same path as me, I've made some strong connections. Past broadcast students have turned into journalists I can call and talk to. Bloggers I've met online and at events have become people I can pass around information to. Friends I've known a while have become people I can share personal experiences with. Everyone needs someone they can share their deepest thoughts with, right? These are all the people that years from now will be successful and will lend a helping hand to me, or vice versa. I'll become successful and I'll help them along the way. You know the way Drake has done for his friends.

So staying in touch and networking with people I already know is more important than running behind some alumni that have never heard my name in a big way before and don't really care to give me a chance because of that. Although if I happen to meet people like Keith Clinkscales or Pam Oliver, they might get stalked until they look at my resume and give me an opportunity.