i have completed my first year phd. and the feedback i have gotten is that i am not good at proactively building relations with faculty and seeking research opportunities. I think the problem is that i just dont go and chit chat with faculty if i dont have anything specific to do. and apprently this seems to be v important in the US context. Any thoughts or advice????

I mean if i do not have any specific question or need to meet with the faculty..... i dont interact....my rapport building is weak....

Seems like an odd thing to say: my first year report focused only on research plans and preliminary results. Are you in the US then?

Do you go to many events/conferences/study days in your field? I've been going to these primarily because I thought the content would be useful but chatting to other attendees while I've been there has led to connections with other researchers/institutions - I'm not massively out-going but it just seems to happen. Maybe just try to get out and meet a few more people.

try and practice smalltalk on people? start with people at parties and then build up to people at your faculty
it's very important to be able to talk to other researchers at conferences (and at your own faculty) because networking DOES lead to research/job opportunities, so they do have a point. i'm not very good at smalltalk, but i do give it a good try...

yep i am in US.....

The US--the home of the have a nice day culture--surely values chitchat and small talk. It doesn't have to mean anything at all, superficial exchanges are normal, generally speaking. I am not sure if you are British, but I had ( and have!) culture shock about this in the UK, where small talk is not exchanged, and people sort of glide past each other in invisible self contained pods. Yes, this is all generalization, but!

Just a simple, hello, how are you, with some quick eye contact, is about all that is needed. No one is likely to REALLY tell you how they are, you will probably get a breezy fine, thanks, in response. The weather--in the US as in the UK--is safe to talk about--grumble about the heat, the cold, the lack of heating or air conditioning where ever you are, or admire the heat, the cold, the sky, the rain, whatever...easy small talk. Its all superficial, it is simply social greetings and acknowledgements, but its an ingrained part of the US culture, so to not do it might appear as being cold, rude or uninterested.

i am from asia..... well i am generally a very amiable person...but i dont go out of my way to chit chat with people.......i mean in the phd program i am in....i am kind of shocked to see that faculty dont give you honest feedback they are not willing to give you projects...bcz they hv presumptions abt how ppl shld first socilize and then prove thier worth...but i agree with all of you..if this is how it is i hv to chane myself after all "boss is always right"

no no....i already do all this...like say hello, ask about how family is...how was trip to that place, but in terms of projects...they say i need to seek them out myslef........i think my presumption that as GA it will be my job to work on their projects was wrong........i need to ask them to let me on projects......as far as extra curric are concerned i participate in all department activities, even help when they ask me to go on lunch with candidtes or conduct campus tours....i am just very worried that even getting projects require impression management to be very social and proactive.......

i mean hard work does not seem to be enough....my concern is as my faculty...isn't it there responsibility to give me some projects....after all in my course wok they said i have shown exxceptional peformance....why i need to chit chat and sit their rooms to get projects???....but again there is no point in whining.....i have to do so...therefore i needed some advice.....and thanks for e one's input

I see, SMRH, that is very confounding! It does sound like you are doing all of the chitchatting and small talking, etc...can you approach an advisor or supervisor in confidence and talk to them about this? I suspect that there are some kind of cultural interactional barriers--that perhaps they are not giving YOU a clear signal on what to do, or what is expected, though perhaps it seems clear to THEM! Can you say, I would very much like to work on Project X--or I am interested in finding out if there is a project on Y...? and use that as a way to start a conversation on this?

Again, generalizing, in the US, so long as its done politely, its perfectly accepted, and perhaps even expected, that a student ask questions and be very proactive in their communication with the professor. This might be different in an Asian academic setting, where I have the impression ( though it might not be correct) that the student is more respectful of the teacher, and is not likely to ask questions.

In the US, its all about talktalktalktalktalk! It might feel strange to approach someone and ask them about an interest in a particular project, or how to find out how to get on a project, but I would think this is just fine in the US milieu. Could the department offer you an informal mentor, who can help you acculturate to the dynamics of this particular department?

well i talk more with one of the professors....i plan to meet him this week.....another faculty memeber had informally told me that ppl are not happy bcz i dont frequently interact with faculty and ask them about whats going on......he has given me a project to work on.....