Most seniors are faced with the daunting task of hunting down a "real" job after college if they decide that this be the path for them. I jumped on that bandwagon but had no idea where to start. I had been told by many people that networking was the way to go about the beginning to my search. I was pretty fed up with sending out emails and calling alumni to try and contact other people that had been suggested to me. My initial feelings were that i was wasting my time just speaking with people and not inquiring about jobs and not lining up interview after interview. My opinion on the benefit of networking with people began to instantly change once i began getting through answers to my questions and advice that i never knew before. I was able to sit down with a marketing manager at Burton who opened my eyes to much advice that was pretty obvious but most people never take into consideration. I also learned a lot about the field i would love to enter at some point in my life. These alumni that are in fields that in positions that sound appealing are the best way to understand what that position entails in their industry and size company.
Networking is certainly something that i am sure a lot of other students avoid before searching for jobs. In addition alumni are always excited to help out current students who need help figuring out where to move forward to after school or even during school. My advice is keep talking because you never know who will be connected to someone that has the job of a lifetime for you.
It's scary to think about entering adulthood but we all have to face it sooner or later. I think this next e pitch we are having Wednesday is something that will benefit all of us when it comes time to look for a job or for anytime. We will be able to update them as time goes on and hopefully have them memorized so if something does come up where we need to use it, we will be ready. Little things like e pitches, are great little tools to help our future.
ReplyDeleteI was hesitant to network at first because my initial perception was that networking was another way of saying you were "using" somebody for your own benefit. When that's your definition of networking of course it will be uncomfortable and turn out so-so. Once I re-defined the strategy and realized sometimes today it is really "who you know" I started to reach out to some people with experience in fields already, so they could help me out. Although nothing substancial has happened yet out of this, there is no doubt I'm closer than I was on my own.
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