Everyone says “network, network, network”, but what makes you stand out among other individuals who have the same purpose? One form of networking is asking people in the industry you’re interested in to meet for a coffee to chat to learn about their job.
Christen Nino De Guzman currently works on community development and content partnerships at TikTok. She also gives career tips on TikTok and Instagram and has scheduled over 50 coffee chats with students! I asked her what to do when networking and these are 4 of her best tips:
1. Do your research. Add value to the relationship.
Before meeting with someone, do your research. A person’s LinkedIn profile can tell a lot about them including their interests. Look at their profile and check what positions they’ve held, so you can ask specific questions regarding their positions. It’s also good to research, so you don’t ask anything that you could easily look up online and ask more valuable and specific questions. An example would be “what are some soft skills that you learned to get where you are?” This keeps you prepared for a conversation and adds value to the relationship.
2. Put in the work.
The session is for your benefit, and the person likely gets tons of emails a day. You should be putting in the work, and it makes you look more professional. If you want to set up a meeting, make it about something specific. Don’t ask something general like, “do you have time to chat for 15 minutes?” Ask a more specific question like, “I see that you went to SJSU and now work as a marketing manager. I’m a marketing major at SJSU, and I’d love to hear more about your experience. Do you have time to chat next week?”. Once you secure a meeting, make sure you suggest days and times for the meeting, be proactive, follow-up, and send the Zoom details.
3. Act human: be personally invested in them and make it a 2-way conversation.
When you’re doing your research, see how you can relate to the person and find common interests to start a conversation. Keep it professional, but treat it as a friendly conversation by finding commonalities with them. For example, if they’re alumni, talk about your university and some of their favorite restaurants nearby. Share an introduction about yourself including some of your hobbies, interests and passion projects to lighten the mood and make the conversation less formal.
4. Always follow-up. Don’t just reach out when you need something, check-in periodically
Networking should be an exchange. Think of what you can do for the person in return for their advice and being a mentor. You can provide value as a college student by doing small things that will go a long way. Some things you can do are leave a comment on their LinkedIn or send them relevant articles related to things in their industry. It can be simple, but anything is effective in building that relationship. Once you’ve built that relationship, then they can help you by referring you for an internship or asking you for help on a project. Another critical thing to remember is to always follow-up with them after a conversation, thanking them for their time.
I hope these tips helped you learn more about networking and check out @careerchristen for more tips like this! Take that first step and set up a coffee chat with an alum from your school; they love to talk to current students.