Written by Matt Martins, Director of University Relations
Networking isn’t just meeting and exchanging contact information with someone, and it’s definitely not about begging them for favors either. Networking is about creating long term, mutually beneficial relationships with people you meet throughout your life. You might think that your network right now is small, but I promise you that it is a whole lot larger than you think.
The easiest way to begin growing your network is to be proactive and connect with people who you already know or have some degree of familiarity with. Ideally, you would want to connect with people who can vouch for your character or work ethic.
Connect with current and previous colleagues from work or volunteer experiences. As a current student, it’s critical that you establish educational connections during your time at Penn State. This includes any professors whose course you take and students who you collaborate with on group assignments. Also, don’t forget to connect with alumni who either work in your field of study, share similar professional interests, or work at a company that you would like to work at. Remember that Penn State has nearly 700,000 living alumni who are eager to connect and meet with other Penn Staters. Another kind of connection that you may have in your network would be relationships that you develop from organizations. These are connections that you make with people from a community service club or a student organization like Happy Valley Comm. Relatives, friends, and neighbors are another set of great connections that you should have in your network.
Don’t be afraid to reach out to your current or potential connections. The key to establishing a meaningful relationship is finding commonality, whether it’s an interest you might share in a specific field or a school you both attended.
Once you establish a connection, do not forget to follow up. So many professionals overlook the importance of this simple task. The time you invest meeting with someone won’t benefit you if you don’t take the proactive step of following up with them. Now, this doesn’t have to be a heartfelt message. A simple, personalized message with a LinkedIn connection request will suffice.
Finally, don’t forget to pay it forward. Remember, networking is about creating long term, mutually beneficial relationships. That means that you should be on the lookout for any opportunities that could be of value to those in your network. Of course, this isn’t limited to just professional opportunities. If you know that someone in your personal network is traveling to a place that you recently visited, don’t hesitate to offer some travel advice. Networking is a two-way street. The more you invest in developing these relationships, the better connections you will have and the more likely someone will pay it forward to you.
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