Networking can be daunting at first (especially in your first year of college), but it can greatly enhance your future career and confidence in your professional capabilities. Outreach and interpersonal skills are necessary for maintaining and expanding your professional network. Here are several tips for building your network and your professionalism in general!
1. Create a Resume
Creating a resume is the first step of your career path. The FSU Career Center, located in the Dunlap Success Center, has many resources to make your resume pop, including drop-in career advising and critiquing. They also have a Career Center Library, which holds print resources of professional documents, including resumes and cover letters. As an FSU student, you have access to this resource from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Monday through Friday. An excellent resume resource not related to Florida State is FlowCV. This website has many resume templates to choose from and provides an outline of where experience, positions, awards, etc., should go. When describing your experiences, provide quality examples of your work, as all descriptions should be concise enough to fit one page.
2. Get a LinkedIn
LinkedIn is an employment-oriented social media website and app whose goal is networking and career development. LinkedIn is essential, as it allows you to connect with those on similar career and educational tracks and apply to various desirable internships and positions. A valuable aspect of LinkedIn is connecting with or following those in leadership positions or in a position you desire to hold in the future. LinkedIn also has a messaging feature, which you can use to ask questions or ask for a career development phone call from those who have achieved your professional aspirations. This can help with getting future internships! Complete your LinkedIn with a strong professional biography and a headshot! If you don’t have a headshot, your academic college, organizations and the FSU Career Center often provide free headshot opportunities.
3. Utilize the Career Center
The FSU Career Center hosts various beneficial professional events, such as mock interviews, resume reviews and law and graduate school fairs. Additionally, on Dec. 13-15, the Career Center will hold a one-day job shadow program called “FSUShadow,” which has both in-person and remote options. This program is a fantastic way to build a network and professional relationships with employers and companies of interest. Students can apply through the Nole Network, which is similar to LinkedIn but specific to FSU students, alumni and employers. The Nole Network has numerous internship, full-time and part-time positions listed. Participating employers range from bankers to ESPN to attorneys and engineers. The deadline to apply for this program is Friday, Oct. 28!
4. Join Organizations that relate to your major/future aspirations
Not only is this a great way to make like-minded and driven friends, but it is a fantastic way to network. Some organizations receive internship opportunities through connections and even have internship and career-related group chats to post these opportunities in. Getting involved is a terrific resume booster, especially if you go above and beyond in one organization. For example, you could join a committee and later become a committee chair. This shows ambition and dedication to a given topic.
5. Make a list of professional goals you wish to accomplish
Your professional goal list can be written in terms of months, semesters and even years. Your list can entail events such as applying to law or graduate school and getting an internship. It could even be as simple as attending a graduate school fair with the Career Center or reaching out to a company you are interested in. Keep it updated as your major and career path may change throughout college.
Don’t let your fear of networking keep you from making essential career connections. Start with these tips and you’ll already be ahead.
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