Networking. Every college student has heard this term (ok, I’m generalizing). You meet someone you find interesting. Something about their job, the company they work for, or the field in general has sparked your interest. Networking, in theory, is so easy. You just walk up to someone, introduce yourself, have a conversation, be exceptionally charming, and then they give you a job. Right? It COULD happen. But instead of a job, they hand you a business card. As an up-and-coming professional, the rest is on you. If you’re like me, the realization of having to talk to actual people to find a job may have you reconsidering your path in life. You contemplate faking illness, or even possibly changing your major completely to something that consists of no human interaction at all. Okay I am being dramatic. But once you pluck up the nerve to make the initial connection, you may wonder what to do next. You have their contact information. First you send out that email.
“Hi,
We met at this event. I’m in the process of looking for a job, and you have a job that I want. I’m going to ask you a lot of questions about that job so you know how interested I am in it. I’ll probably ask you about yourself. What you like or don’t like about what you do, or what your job is like day-to-day. But by now you’ve figured out that what I really want to know is how you got your job and what I can do to get a job like yours. Because face it, I’m in college and am just looking for that one foot in the door. We should get coffee and talk some more about your job and your life in general because I’m genuinely interested in getting to know you (not only because you can help me) because you seem like a very interesting person.
Please respond so I don’t feel so needy and annoying.“
Ok, I really hope no one’s ever sent an email EXACTLY like that, but you get the idea.
I used to think professionals thought I was really annoying until I realized that they really are happy and willing to help young professionals get their start. It’s all about putting yourself out there and stepping out of your comfort zone. Especially in PR, if you’re not willing to step out of your comfort zone and ask for favors, it’s likely that you’ll remain stagnant in your career pursuits.
However, for the socially challenged, LinkedIn is another great networking tool. Before meeting a professional ahead of time, you will likely be able to find them on LinkedIn. (If we’ve had a conversation, I probably looked you up on LinkedIn on the way home) You can add professionals or simply browse their profiles. Learn some stuff about them that you can bring up in conversation or use to generate interesting questions to ask. They will be impressed that you took the time to do your research.
Just keep in mind that as annoying or bothersome you think you are being to a professional, that they have all been in your position once before. It took me a while to realize, but professionals really are happy and willing to help young people, especially students, in providing them with the advice and guidance they need while looking for that first job. It did take a while to get comfortable with, but for me, networking eventually became second nature.
What Sarah Says 