The mysterious art of networking – part one
October 6th, 2008
How do you ask people to help you figure out what you want to do with your life? Everyone talks about networking being a critical skill in a successful job search, but few people do it well. Many people are just shy. Others feel intimidated by a process that seems to be asking for something without providing something in return. Let’s start by defining professional networking.
Many of you are members of social networking groups through Facebook and MySpace. Some of you may have joined a professional site such as LinkedIn. These can be useful places to do some online research, and maintain your contacts but in the end you are going to have a face to face conversation. Professional networking is a way of connecting with people with a similar career interest; sharing information and contacts in the field.
People love to talk about what they do. Don’t be intimidated. Professionals are busy and may not IM, but they will talk to you. Just be patient. What can you give in return? They want to hear what you think: about their profession, about you and about what is happening at USC.
How do you start? It all comes back to what you want to do. If you don’t yet know, pick a couple of areas of interest. Then start building a list of who you would like meet. Start with friends and family. Who might know someone in your field of interest? This is networking.
The CPPC has it’s own networking database, the Trojan Network. This is a resource with over 7,600 alumni who have volunteered to provide information and advice to USC students. Log on and begin to identify some folks for your network. You may select up to three contacts per month.
Next, join a professional association. You can easily access a listing through the USC Library database. Once you are on the site, click on Advanced Search. Next change the content area to Associations. You can then search by career field. This will provide you with access to both local and national contacts. Many of these associations have portions of the site dedicated to career information.
Keep in touch with the people you met this summer in your internship or part time job. Let them know what you are thinking of doing. Talk to your faculty and TAs. They will have ideas on where to connect. Did you meet an alum at the football game Saturday? Follow up with an email. Your network is growing!
This afternoon while you are in class, look around the room. This is your Trojan Family. Meet at least two new students. Talk to them about what you are thinking about careerwise. Ask them about their plans. They may know someone. You may know someone. Now you are really networking!
The key to successful networking is managing your contacts over time. As you start, build a list of your contacts. You can add as you proceed throughout your career.
What questions do you have about this process? On Thursday this week, the blog will address the questions you can ask to get a networking conversation started. For now, start thinking about what you want to know that will help you decide if this is the career for you.