Whether you’re just starting your college career or nearly to the end, it’s never to early or late to start building your network. I never realized how important it is to build a network until my last semester of college when it finally hit me that it was time to step into the real world. Sometimes we like to think opportunities will just come our way and land in our lap, but as great as that sounds, it definitely is not the case. So grab a pen and notepad and lets get to it!
First thing is first. Discover your “why?” Why is it that you do what you do (or what you want to do)? What it is that motivates you to wake up every morning to work harder towards achieving your goal? Once you identify the reason behind your ambition, hold on tight to it and don’t lose sight. Constantly remind yourself the reasoning behind whatever it is you love. This will encourage you to keep preserving, even when the networking and opportunities seem untouchable and out of reach.
An important key factor I have learned when creating my network, is to reach out to those outside of my circle. Turns out, there is greater opportunity when you start conversing with those who aren’t doing the same thing you are doing on a day to day basis. Who would have thought, right? More than often, your inner circle tends to have a stronger sense of similarity and sympathy towards you, rather than knowing any more about the career you wish to pursue than you do. So contact those weak ties and start creating connections.
Draw out a map of what interests you the most, where you see yourself in a couple of years and start researching. Talk to those that are doing better than you, to those who are walking in the shoes you want to be walking in. Reach out to the hitters, whether it is via email, phone or social media. Remember the only thing stopping yourself from reaching your full potential, is you. Turn the tables on them; let them know why they need you and what qualifies you for the position. Worse comes to worse, pick their brains for a little bit you may be surprised on how willing they are to help those who are going the extra mile.
Stop telling yourself you don’t need to network. It’s a prime tool to help you make it to the top, you never know what opportunities will come your way when you start putting yourself out there to build your network. Most importantly have fun with it!
Read more on networking tips to get started.
Good luck to you all!