Networking is a way to connect with other people and create opportunities after graduation for college students. This means creating professional relationships with other students and professors on campus. Networking is a way to connect with other people and create opportunities after graduation for college students. This means creating professional relationships with other students and professors on campus.“By networking, you get to know more people,” PSUC sophomore childhood education major Michelle Unigarro said.
“Through those people, you are able to make connections that are going help you in the future.”As an education major, Unigarro said it is good for her to network with other teachers because they might be able to give her career advice and all different opportunities.“Whether they are your family, friends or peers, it is best to network because it may help you with your future career,” PSUC sophomore human development and family relations major Christine Nghe said. “By networking, you can start your own business, and it can also help you climb up the career leader, help with long-term investments and lifelong relationships.”Seventy percent of jobs are found through networking, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The number might be even higher for internship opportunities, according to Delaware Valley University’s official website.Networking is to step outside of a comfort zone. In order to start, Nghe said students would have to search around and put their foot out there. “It is best to test the water and explore around,” she said. “Ask friends and families for someone you can talk to in order to step out and start networking. Let others know about your goals and seek assistance.”
Unigarro suggests students should go to different meetings, set up plans with different people and put an effort into those because “people are not going to reach out to you first unless you do.”According to LinkedIn, 70 percent of people in 2016 were hired at a company where they had a connection, 80 percent of professionals consider professional networking to be important to career success, 35 percent of surveyed professional say that a casual conversation on LinkedIn Messaging has led to a new opportunity and 61 percent of professionals agree that regular online interaction with their professional network can lead to the way in to possible job opportunities.
“In order to network effectively, it is recommended to engage with each other,” Nghe said. “Also, you want to be intriguing.”In order to build a connection with someone new, Nghe said students have to find the quickest way to spark up others’ curiosity with something unexpected. By doing so, that is already step one in building a network effectively.“It is hard when it comes to networking,” she said. “It may be something that you are new to, and it might not be how you wanted it to turn out.”
Nghe recommended students should explore because there are many options and people to talk to.“You can search around and find what is best for you,” she said.She said stepping out of the comfort zone is the key of networking because “it is how you express who you are.”“Those in the professional fields have no idea who you are right now,” she said.
“You have to get your name out there. Put out all your positive characteristics and all your work.”By doing so, she said students will be able to speak to others, build relationships and also meet many professionals in the field they are looking into. PSUC sophomore childhood education major Angela Simone said she always goes to her old school and finds a way that she can help out in a classroom in order to gain experience. That’s how she networks. “By meeting people, you are opening doors for more opportunities,” she said.
Email Hilly Nguyen at fuse@cardinalpointsonline.com
