Networking is a job search strategy based upon establishing contact and cultivating relationships with individuals who can assist you in identifying employment opportunities. These individuals can include friends, acquaintances, neighbors, relatives, alumni, professors, student peers, co-workers, professional colleagues, clergy, politicians and others.

Why do it?

Surveys of job hunters have shown that between 63% and 84% of all job hunters obtained their positions by networking, whereas 11% found them by answering ads and 2% by sending unsolicited resumes. Networking is more effective than other methods of job hunting because it helps you to identify opportunities in the "hidden" job market - jobs known only to a few individuals within the organization.

Networking Tips/Strategies

• Think of networking as a way of life. Networking is a social skill and a skill you should practice every day.
• Stay organized. You need to remember who you have contacted, how and when you contacted them and what the outcome of the contact was. Use your computer, a notebook or index cards to do so.
• Develop a brief introduction that identifies who you are and clarifies your career goals.
• Request a business card from each individual with whom you meet.
• Continue to augment your contact list, even after you have found a job.
• Join a professional organization and make good use of the group’s membership directory.
• Be a good networking referral yourself after you have secured a position. Quid pro quo goes a long way.

How to Conduct a Networking Meeting

1. Engage in small talk (e.g., the weather, the day’s headlines, etc. ) to break the ice.
2. Thank your contact. (e.g., Thank you for taking the time to meet with me. As I indicated during our brief phone conversation last week, I will graduate from the Mailman School of Public Health in October 2010. I am considering a few career options, and I would like to solicit your input.)
3. Give your contact a copy of your resume. Highlight, verbally, significant accomplishments and interests to enable your contact to make additional, relevant referrals.
4. Request advice, strategies, and observations about your goals. Ask for information about a specific job function or industry or employer. Refer to the website page on Informational Interviewing for sample questions.
5. Ask for additional contacts if your contact has not already offered them. Ask how your contact knows them and if you can use the current contact’s name when contacting additional referrals.
6. Close the meeting by indicating that you will follow-up to let the contact know how your search is progressing.
7. Don’t neglect to send a formal thank you after the meeting. If someone has been nice enough to meet with you, basic courtesy dictates a formal thank you letter in business format.

Networking Resources

• Columbia University Regional Alumni Clubs
• Columbia University Alumni Directory
• Your undergraduate Alumni Directory
• If you plan to be based in Washington, DC for the summer, e-mail Congress@columbia.edu in May, and ask to be added to the Washington DC events e-mail list, managed by the Columbia Office of Government and Community Affairs.
  
  
  

	Click below for a sample Networking Thank You Letter, in word and pdf formats:
	Word PDF

 

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