STEP 2: NETWORKING

Student Life › Career Services ›
Submitted by sstreit on Fri, 01/21/2011 - 11:15am
in

STEP 2: NETWORKING

What is Networking: Networking is the number one way people get jobs. “Networking is the time-honored process of using cordial alliances and information referrals to further one's professional advancement and success. Networking is a two-way street. Members call on friends and colleagues for problem solving, information gathering, job leads, gaining access to role models, and for general support. In turn, they provide these services to peers and people on the way up”.

Benefits of Networking: “Because the vast majority of job openings are never advertised, job-seekers need to have a network of contacts that can provide support, information, and job leads” (http://www.quintcareers.com/networking.html).
Additional reasons to network:

  1. To gather information in a low stress environment
  2. To develop a clearer understanding of a specific career field
  3. To begin to establish a network of contacts to hire or refer you
  4. To get connected to information about a particular company or organization
  5. To learn successful strategies for finding employment
  6. To gain experience in interviewing
  7. Because “94% of all successful job seekers claimed networking had made all the difference for them” (wall street journal, as cited on msn.com).
  8. See what msn.com has to say http://editorial.careers.msn.com/articles/bigdeal/

Building Your Network: Create a networking list or a contact list. Include all the people you know, and get their lists of contacts, etc. Be sure to include all of your parents’ friends, your friend’s parents, and friends of other family members. Listed below are resources and strategies you can use to expand your current network:

  • Attend information sessions and events offered on and off campus
  • Attend career fairs, recruiting and interview events
  • Speak with your professors and ask them for suggestions
  • Conduct an Informational Interview
  • Complete an internship or Shadow-a Saint
  • Use the SLU Career Mentor Network in SAINTSLink to access close to 2,000 alumni and parents who have volunteered to be a networking resource for YOU!! The SLU Career Mentor Network can sort contact information based on geographic and industry preference, as well as the type of career assistance you seek, including advice, internships, shadow opportunities, and more. The network can also sort by job industry or job title.

Networking Rules: Networking is an intimidating task to accomplish and there are very clear networking rules that you need to follow when establishing and building relationships with your existing and growing network of contacts. Please see below the "dos" and "don'ts" to keep in mind while networking:

Networking Dos:

  • Do your homework before you meet with a contact
  • Do meet with your contact in person whenever possible
  • Do prepare an agenda in advance
  • Do educate your contacts about you
  • Do keep expanding your network
  • Do try to reciprocate as often as possible
  • Do practice before you begin
  • Do  keep the door open for follow-up with your contact

Networking Don'ts:

  • Don’t ask for a job
  • Don’t ask someone to send your resume around
  • Don’t expect too much too soon
  • Don’t assume others know your background
  • Don’t give the impression that you’re looking for any old job – be focused
  • Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get a response from someone
  • Don’t bend the truth
  • Don’t forget to send a thank-you note
  • Don’t forget to let your network know the outcome
  • Don’t disregard your contact’s schedule or time

SLU Career Mentor Network Rules:

How to search for contacts in the SLU Career Mentor Network:
Every student has access to the SLU Career Mentor Network through their SAINTSLink account.  Alumni who need a SAINTSLink account can e-mail careers@stlawu.edu to gain access to the system.  Once logged into SAINTSLink, click on Networking on the top navigation bar to access the SLU Career Mentor Network database. 


There are more than 1500 contacts in the networking section of SAINTSLink, and all are there because they have a specific interest in helping fellow Laurentians with their career path.  As with any professional networking you do, you should not ask our career mentors for an interview or job, but instead seek only career advice. 
To search for mentors, first click on the Detailed Search tab in the Networking section of SAINTSLink.  You can search mentor contacts by a variety of factors, but it is recommended that you begin with minimal search fields selected, and narrow your search from there if necessary.  For example, you might search only by your preferred industry first (if you know what field you are interested in), and then do a separate search by geographic location.  The reason for this is that there might be someone in your preferred industry who works outside of your preferred geographic location, but might have contacts in the city you are considering.  You might also find that there are Laurentians in your preferred geographic location who don’t work in your preferred industry, but might have valuable contacts in that location, in your preferred field.


You will notice that you do not initially get the name and contact information for the career mentors.  After first viewing their Employer, Job Title, and Major on the search results screen, you will need to click View to learn more about each mentor you select.  If you want to obtain contact information for that mentor, simply click Interested at the bottom of the page.  This extra step is in place so that we can keep track of how many times the contact information of a mentor is selected, as some mentors choose to limit the number of times their information can be accessed.  Please note that the contact information given when you click Interested is that individual’s preferred contact method.  If you find out of date contact information, please e-mail careers@stlawu.edu and we will look for more up-to-date information for that mentor.  We update the system annually, but as people inevitably change jobs throughout the year, some information might no longer be current.
For easy access to mentors you are interested in, you can mark them as Favorites to have them saved in your Favorites tab within the Networking section.

How to contact SLU Career Mentors:
Please see pages 18-19 of the Professional Correspondence Guidebook for guidelines on how to contact mentors, and to view a sample letter/e-mail introduction you might send.  If you will be meeting with a mentor, you can view the Informational Interviewing recorded presentation by clicking on the Media Room link in the QuickLinks section of the Career Services homepage.  You can also review a list of sample informational interview questions. 

Be certain you ALWAYS write a note thanking each alumnus/a for taking the time to meet/speak/correspond with you. Keeping alumni informed of your job search assures them that their time was well spent and helps to strengthen your contact with important network contacts.