Networking 101
Networking is meeting and connecting with others and is not just done in business and/or face-to-face settings. Network with students studying with you, professors, employers, alumni, friends or someone random you just met. Remember, you never know what and who connection may lead to.
Benefits
- Roughly 75% of jobs are found, not through advertisements, but through networking
- Most people don’t work for large employers with big Human Resources (HR) departments and automated hiring processes. Therefore, making a connection is critical!
- Employers prefer to hire people: (1) they know and (2) are recommended
- Eliminate your competition by beating them to the job before it is ever advertised
Informational Interviews
Informational Interviews are conversations with individuals who work for the programs, jobs, or organizations in which you are interested. Informational Interviews help you:
- Gather information about an organization, job, and related professional concerns
- Confirm your understanding of the requirements and daily operations of the job and organization
- Learn about the professional language and culture of the job and organization
- Create contacts and build relationships with people in your career field
- Learn to present yourself more effectively in future job interviews
- Gain self-confidence
Using Social Media
The majority of companies use LinkedIn for recruiting, which makes social networking essential in the job hunt. Many of these companies have found a new hire through a social network.
