At the beginning of every semester and at the end of every first day of class, there were always a couple of students who would introduce themselves to their professors in hopes of leaving a lasting impression. They would let the professors know their names, what they want to get out of the class, and how they’re excited to learn, all to proudly ask for a recommendation letter in the future.
By the end of the semester, these same students stopped making an effort in building rapport with their professors. Their professors stopped paying attention to them. And the goal of acquiring a recommendation letter disappeared, never to be brought up.
I’ve seen this happen too many times.
In fact, I did it myself when I was a freshman.
I thought I was getting ahead by letting them know who I was, but it only gave me the illusion that I was ahead, leaving me satisfied before the race started.
When realizing this, I decided to take a different approach.
I stopped introducing myself to my professors.
On the first day of class, I didn’t walk up to them to make an impression. I didn’t give them my name until they asked for it.
What I did instead was get active during class. I raised my hand and asked questions every chance I could. I answered questions when I was confident on the topic. And my professors had no choice but to pay attention to me, because few students consistently ask questions and get involved.
The best example was during my senior year when there was a well known professor in the business school who was also a serial entrepreneur. Every student wanted to get recognized by him hoping to have his full backing on their business idea. Naturally, many of them introduced themselves at the end of the first day.
But I didn’t.
I took a risk in not making an attempt at establishing a relationship with this professor in the beginning, and I feared it wouldn’t happen. But I trusted my process by being active in class and bombarding him with questions for weeks. When he invited guest speakers to talk to us and share their stories, I asked them questions. It got to the point where other students were waiting to see what question I would ask in each class period.
Then, a few weeks before the semester ended, at the end of class when everyone left except for me and the professor, he walked up to me and told me how much he appreciated my involvement in his class and that few students contributed as much as I did. I thanked him and told him I found his class interesting and joyful for me to get engaged in.
Finally, he said that if I ever needed anything, such as a recommendation letter or just having coffee, to feel free to contact him and we can get it on the calendar.
In the end, it was my behaviors and actions that got me noticed, not my introduction.
Here’s my inspiration for the day.