Start Career Networking NOW

By Sharon Thomas DeLay
Surveys indicate career networking is the best way to get to your goal. Some indicate as many as 9 out of 10 jobs will be found through networking. The lower end of the scale is 7 out of 10 jobs, which is still pretty significant. Target your career networking in a few simple steps.

Identify what it is you want to do when you graduate. This could be a specific job or a job at which you can use your education.
Identify a couple of people now who work in the profession you’re pursuing. For example, if you are studying accounting, find one or two accountants with whom you can begin chatting. Do the same for any targeted companies. Over the course of college, these people become mentors and excellent sources of information on the inside.

Get to know your connections. Build a relationship (at their pace, not yours) and understand what they are interested in regarding both work and non-work.

Stay in touch with these connections at least quarterly throughout your college career. Share the highs with them and ask for advice for the lows. Learn from their experience and knowledge.

Understand what you can do for them. It can be as simple as helping them organize paperwork or connect them to a potential employee. This does not eliminate your future opportunities. In three years things will have changed and the opportunity, or a better one, will be there for you.

Don’t waste your connections’ time by using your meetings or their energy with school problems. They are not your mother (therapist, counselor, spiritual advisor, etc.).  Return the favor as often as possible. Introduce them to people you meet that you think they need to know, send articles or books that appeal to their interest. Nurture the relationship (it’s your job, not theirs).
The best advice is to START NOW. Relationships take time and it is not uncommon for career networking to take several months to kick in.

Sharon DeLay is a certified career coach with the goal of helping people find jobs they love and love the jobs they have. Visit www.permanent-ink.com or e-mail Sharon@permanent-ink.com for more information or to subscribe to her twice weekly blog or twice monthly ezine. (c) 2009 Permanent Ink Professional Development Services