Networking

Written on Friday, February 19, 2010 by Oakland University Career Services

Erin Denomme
Oakland University Career Services
Graduate Assistant

As you prepare for graduation, you also prepare to begin you career. Whether you have already been given an offer, or you are still searching, the key to your future success will be networking.

You should begin networking early on in your college careers. You can network at a number of events such as:

• Trade Shows
• Career Fairs
• Career Events (i.e. Etiquette Dinners)
• Association Events (i.e. SHRM, Inforum, Detroit Economic Club)
• Student Clubs and Organizations
• Social Media (i.e. Twitter, LinkedIn)
• Informational Interviews

Every social event is a networking opportunity.

While you are a student you have the best networking opportunities available to you. Try to schedule one informational interview every month. Each time you participate in an informational interview you should gather the names and contact information of 1-3 individuals. Then, utilize this new contact information to broaden your network and schedule additional information interviews.

Networking may not always come easy.

Most of the time networking will require that you remove yourself from your comfort zone and introduce yourself to people you've never met before. It may be easy to stand around with a group of your friends and colleagues at social event but this will not allow you to expand your network.

One great way to make sure you find balance at networking events is through goal setting.
Before you enter the event, set yourself a goal (i.e. I will introduce myself to "x" number of people tonight before I return to my comfort group). This will force you to make use of the time you have at networking events while still allowing you to socialize and keep-up relationships with friends and colleagues you already know.

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