The Key to Success: Networking
The internship and job hunt can appear as an intimidating and challenging beast to battle. Many students have a strong desire to get an internship during the school year, but don’t know how to find it. What is the key to success in landing a job or internship? Some students will search on indeed.com or other online employment platforms for internship openings. Other students will depend on email listservs to find out about openings. The issue with these two strategies is there are no ways to make yourself stand out…you’re just another name attached to another email address. Listserv emails and online employment platforms don’t allow for you to put a face to a name or even show employers who you really are. However there is one method you can use that always allows for you to display your personality. This method is networking.
The art of networking has been around for centuries, and it is something people can perform daily. When you network with other people you are building your “professional bubble.” Networking can be a terrifying experience for many, but what people, especially students, need to realize is networking is a vital key to professional success. By going to networking events you have the opportunity to connect with multiple professionals at once. When connecting with these professionals, you are putting a face to a name and showing them who the person behind the business card or resume is. Networking makes you stand out. For example, if you meet someone at a networking event, and a month later you find out the person you networked with is looking to hire, you are already one step ahead of the other potential candidates, because the employer knows who you are, knows your personality and knows you took the time to meet them, which ultimately makes your resume and application stand out among the rest. Networking allows you to not only build your network, but it also familiarizes you with local professionals. This is helpful with students, because as a new face in the industry, you want people to learn about you and recognize you. Also, another positive of networking is once you meet one person, chances are you will see them again at another networking event where they will introduce you to someone else, and so on.
By: Alissa Steele
Temple PRSSA Blog 