Networking doesn't start when you're out of a job. The networking can range from a simple handshake to a job offer. One woman who ran an employment service regularly came to First Fridays. People have enhanced their own businesses by coming to First Fridays, and we've had a consultant for Paine Webber set up shop there. First Fridays has been on the scene since the mid-1980s, but not everyone knows about it, and not everyone is invited.
Some cities rely on word of mouth or mailing lists.
In places like Charlotte, N.C., and Phoenix, the details come through the electronic grapevine. We figure that there aren't too many thugs that have e-mails. At Chicago's May event at E2, an entertainment complex along South Michigan Avenue, men crowded around a table to discuss recent developments at a technology company. Nearby, three women talked about their jobs at the Environmental Protection Agency. As in several cities, First Fridays begins in Chicago around 6 p.m. and goes on into the early morning.