In business, it is often said that it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. When it comes to landing a job and building a career, both things matter, but who you know can make a crucial difference. Often, it’s the people that you know who bring job opportunities to your attention and could help you to get your foot in the door of a lifelong career. For most college students, it’s their network of connections that indirectly or directly lead to jobs and promotions.
When Should You Start Networking?
The idea of networking is to establish connections and build professional relationships before you need them. Therefore, it’s never too early to start networking. During your freshmen and sophomore years, you can start by getting to know your professors. This can have a variety of benefits, including mentorship as well as an established and respected resource to provide you with a reference upon graduation.
You should also spend time getting to know other students. Ask your fellow students about their interests, career plans and family members’ occupations. This information can be very helpful to you as you get closer to graduation. You can also join a fraternity or sorority or other student organization.
During your junior year, you should ramp up your networking activities. Ideally, by this time, you will have narrowed down your career interests, so you should be able to focus your networking activities on people who are involved in your future field. You can identify people to add to your network by making a list of companies you’d like to work for and people who might be able to help you connect with those companies. You should also look for networking opportunities in your university’s alumni database as well as alumni from your fraternity, sorority or other student organization.
During your senior year, you should join professional organizations, many of which offer student membership rates. If you aren’t able to attend meetings, comb through the membership roster and contact members that may be good candidates to add to your network. Each time you add a contact, ask for a referral to other contacts. Stay in touch with your contacts and acknowledge any referrals or favors with a thank you note.
Networking Sources
The strategic use of social media can be a very effective networking tool. LinkedIn can be a great resource to help you keep track of your contacts and find potential new contacts. Twitter is another good option as it allows you to directly connect with people in your career field.
Internships are another excellent networking opportunity. Many employers hire full-time permanent employees from their intern group. It’s also a great way to show what you can do to working professionals in your field and gives you real-world experience you can put on your resume.
Looking to others who have experience is another good option. School alumni and your friends’ parents can be great resources as they are often willing to help and are well connected or know people who are. Although you can still contact them after graduation, it’s often less awkward to do so before you graduate.
Networking Beyond Graduation
By developing your network before you graduate, you’ll have a list of people to draw on for advice, opportunities, references and other help when it comes time to begin your job search. You’ll be able to enjoy your graduation since odds are good that you’ll graduate with a job or several job prospects. Be sure to update your contacts with any changes in your job status and stay in touch. If your first job isn’t a good fit, or you’re looking to move up after you have some experience under your belt, your network will continue to be one of your best career assets.
