The How To's of Networking
ALERT: The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that 70 percent of all job connections are made through personal networking. By schmoozing, you make word-of-mouth work in your favor. You can learn about a variety of industries and make friends and contacts that you can call upon for career advice or assistance. It's really not that difficult. Basically, you will need to do three things:
1. Place yourself in an environment where you connect with those in your field of interest.
How can you easily identify other professionals in your field?
- Participate in Corporate Visibility Days and employer information sessions offered through the Career Services Center ; this is the perfect opportunity to meet and greet potential employers.
- Utilize your UMBCworks account to sign up for on-campus interviews through the Career Services Center .
- Attend UMBC Career Fairs (dates listed on our calendar) as well as other local fairs.
- Talk to people from all aspects of your life and tell them over and over again about your dependable strengths and career interests.
Like who? Faculty, UMBC alumni, and other colleagues, including your co-workers and business associates, neighbors, friends, church members, your barber/hair stylist, friends and relatives; and this list could go on.
Consider leaving them your resume and give them permission to pass it along to others. - Join a professional group (e.g., The American Psychological Assoc.) in your major as a student member.
You will also save on the cost of membership. Many jobs are found through this type of professional networking. - The Internet can be a very useful professional networking tool (Check out our Links by Major page.)
2. Make sure you are able to articulate your strengths and what problems you are able to solve for the employer (see our page on Career Planning and Strengths Assessment.) Also, be sure to ask intelligent networking questions. Ask a Career Specialist for examples of good networking questions.
3. Follow-up afterwards. This can be done electronically or by postal mail. You may want to send a follow-up letter and a copy of your resume. Please remember to keep good records of your leads, dates and types of contact, action taken and required follow up.
Here are a few additional networking tips that will lead to a positive and productive conversation:
DO present yourself in the best possible light, but don't over exaggerate or tell half-truths.
DO avoid topics related to politics or religion (unless this is your career field of interest).
DO have an agenda for the conversation so that you can get all of your questions answered.
DO show confidence, but not aggressiveness.
DO minimize distracting body language-are you blinking a lot?
Are your arm and hand motions distracting the other person?DO be aware of any nervous twitches you might have.
DO maintain good body posture. Are you slouching?
DO make eye contact (without staring the other person down).
DO speak with strong action verbs-e.g., I have very good communication skills.
DON'T say anything negative about a former job or supervisor, teacher, roommate. Show that you are a positive person.
DON'T use acronyms or jargon that might be unfamiliar to the other person unless you're speaking to someone in a related field who would understand what you're talking about.
DON'T crowd others' physical space. Keep a comfortable distance between you and the other person.
