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It’s that time of year again! College campuses will soon be packed with students eager to take on the new school year. While students may not be in the market for a full-time role quite yet, the school year is the time to start thinking about your future roles and how you can start preparing for them now. Building your network is one of the best ways to get ahead in your career while still in school. Whether you’re a freshman or a senior, you and your future self will benefit from networking. Here are three tips to get you started.
Think Beyond Linkedin
LinkedIn is widely known as the place where students and professionals connect. The platform definitely has its benefits, like being able to access any professional in any industry and role. However, networking is more than just sending cold LinkedIn requests, and while you’re still in school, you probably won’t be best served by swinging for the fences and reaching out to C-suite professionals.
Start with the people you already know in your daily life, like professors, former employers, and family friends. These people already know who you are, which means you don’t need to reach out via LinkedIn, and they will be much more willing to talk with you.
To build better connections with your professors, start by attending office hours. Whether you want to talk about your projects or simply want to chat about the course, attending office hours is a great way to start building rapport. Over time, you will get to understand them a bit more and can guide the conversation to other topics, like their wider field or your future career goals. Professors have deep knowledge of their subject area, so hearing directly from an expert about your desired field will give you information that can help you solidify and reach your goals. Going in and talking once is great, but adding this into your schedule on a regular basis will be much more effective.
Networking with former employers and family friends will look a bit different, depending on their level of industry knowledge and your personal experience with them. Regardless, having them as a part of your network can be beneficial in learning about a variety of things in the workforce, including interviewing tips, workplace etiquette, and much more. These quality connections can help you down the line.
Informational interviews
After you’ve connected with people you are familiar with, you can venture into reaching out to new people through LinkedIn. Asking for informational interviews is a great way to get to know someone and learn more about your field from someone currently working in it.
Reaching out to a stranger for an informational interview can be daunting, but if they say yes, these meetings can be highly beneficial. When you initially reach out, make sure to include any possible connections you may have with them. Maybe they are an alumnus at your university, or maybe you have crossed paths with them previously, or you have a mutual acquaintance. Whatever it is, establishing a connection will increase your chances of them actually responding. You also want to be upfront about what you’re looking for and mention that you’d like to meet for an informational interview.
To get the most out of this meeting, try to ask them questions that speak to their unique experiences and insights they may have. Beforehand, do research into their work experience and industry trends to guide your questions. Don’t waste their time with questions that are easily searchable. Instead, ask questions such as how a typical day looks like, what they like and dislike about their position, and their path to getting to where they are. You want to leave this meeting with true insights.
After the meeting, send a thank you message. Once the meeting concludes, you don’t want to let the connection go cold. Catch up with them periodically, engage with their LinkedIn posts, and nurture the connection.
Networking Events
One way to meet new connections that doesn't involve sending cold emails is by attending networking events. There are a variety of networking events students can attend, including career fairs, speed networking, and alumni networking events.
Career fairs are the best way to make connections with people at a specific company you may be interested in. Plan ahead which employers you want to target to avoid wandering around and having to make those decisions in the moment. Even if you aren’t in the position to apply anywhere, take notes that you can reference next year when you are ready to apply for a position. You will also want to chat with other students at the event instead of just the employers. These conversations can lead to both friends and professional connections.
If you’re interested in virtual networking opportunities, check out Vault Events. These events give you the opportunity to connect employers outside of your state or region.
You can also attend alumni networking events that your college hosts. The upside to these events is you will already have common ground with the people there: your shared university. Alumni are also eager to help students from their alma mater. Beforehand, you should review the guest list, if it’s available, and research a few of the alumni on LinkedIn. This will help you to approach them with relevant questions, instead of going in completely blind. After the event, collect on LinkedIn with any of the guests you spoke with, and just like with informational interviews, follow-up periodically to keep the connection alive.
Networking takes some work, but you’ll see the return on your investment for the rest of your career.
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