Growing My Social Capital

I plan on having a future career in Dentistry, so I tried to contact people based on this.

The first person I contacted was Dr. Nossa, who is a dentist in Gainesville. He is a domain expert because he has worked in this field for many years. I had previously worked with Dr. Nossa and contacted him with e-mail. He has previously allowed me to volunteer with him at his practice. Knowing a practicing dentist will be useful for shadowing and potential letters of recommendation.

The second person I contacted was a man named Thomas Dithson, who I had met while volunteering at another clinic. He has worked in selling dental supplies for several years, making him a supply expert. I contacted him via e-mail that he had given me previously. Knowing him could allow me to gain info on the dental supplies market.

The final person I contacted was a pediatric dentist named Dr. Nealson, who I know from childhood as my own personal pediatric dentist. She is a market expert because she has worked and operated multiple dental practices and knows the market in South Florida. I contacted her via phone. She has previously allowed me to shadow her. Knowing her could be useful for getting information on how to open a practice in certain markets.

This experience differed from my previous networking experiences in that I had to directly reach and contact people, which I was not used to and was somewhat nervous about. In the future, I will mentally categorize network contacts by the specific niche they fill in my industry and how I can use that information to assist myself.