How to network yourself in college
Casey Burton, Staff Writer
Have no fear college students, networking is easy; many college students spend their time, money, and hard work on graduating college, but have no clue how to get a job after they leave. It is the action of advertising oneself to a company or person for a line of work that puts all that time and effort behind a college degree in full effect.
A few ways to go about networking is talking to some professionals to know what certain people in the hiring process are looking for. It would be tough for someone to prove they are fit for the job without knowing what to highlight to employers ahead of time.
After talking to Christian Vicino, owner of a realty firm, House Exposures, the secret to knowing what employers like to see becomes less complicated.
“When I hire people, I look at who they are as a person. I am currently looking for a person to run my social media and obviously, it is important to have the experience and credentials because that is what any hiring advisor will look for, but what I don’t want is someone who spends their whole life trying to look good on a resume…and has spent no time building relationships and being a good people person. So, my advice would be to display your accomplishments and humanize yourself at the same time. If you have an odd hobby or something unique, make that known”, Vicino said.
Talking to Vicino, it became evident that is it super important to make those connections with people while you’re young and fresh out of college. The more people you know and more connections you have, it’ll only help you and your career in the long run.
Some easy ways to network and get one’s name and information out there is using apps and websites. LinkedIn is a great example of these said methods, it is for people to insert their profession or skills and desired location, and it pulls up all related jobs near the desired area with access to the bosses to reach out to.
Jared Thomas, assistant vice president of student engagement here at North Greenville, had some good advice on how students should go out and push for internships while in college to get some experience and connections under the belt before catapulting into the real world.
“It’s important to get out there you know. We (staff at NGU) do our best to try and give students what they need to excel in their field, and here at campus life, we help push them out the door to utilize those skills. We refer them to certain jobs, help find them internships, and help them with anything we can…even coaching for an interview”, Thomas said.
Students at North Greenville are encouraged in many ways to get involved with the community around school because it benefits the students in numerous ways. For example, being involved with the community helps teach students how to be a leader in a community and it also teaches them the confidence it requires to go out and make connections; by starting clubs, working in admissions, being involved in anything around school, meeting people, etc.
Stuart Floyd, director of campus ministries student engagement, explained the efforts behind the scenes to help students prosper on campus and in the work field.
“Students may think we have so many events for a multitude of reasons. Like they may think we do it so they don’t get bored or so it distracts them from schoolwork…meanwhile we plan out all these events to teach them valuable lessons such as time management, prioritizing socializing, getting involved with the outside world, etc. I don’t plan out intramural sports because I would rather watch them then turn on ESPN. I do that and push for planning all kinds of student activities because if they come to college to learn, and it would be a shame if they learned all their schoolwork, but didn’t have the tools to be a good, functioning member of society. So, we value teaching them these things and that’s why I’m here”, Floyd said.
As stated before, using apps like LinkedIn would be a good way to search for jobs and, know how to sell yourself. Selling yourself may sound weird, but it will benefit knowing before an interview, what the person in charge of hiring you is looking for. Also, knowing how to interview and knowing how to socialize will help you be more an asset to society.
In terms of putting together a gift basket, schooling and experience is metaphorically the gifts in the gift basket… but the networking is the pretty bow on top that seals the deal, making it a properly successful gift basket. So, in other words, be the pretty gift basket and think about networking before it’s time to buy your cap and gowns for graduation.
