Networking and making career connections

Preparing yourself for a career requires action and occasionally pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone. Without career research, your job search becomes ineffectual. There is a reason why we say, “it’s good to talk.” Good conversations will; 

• Expand your understanding  

Networking is an excellent way to help your career research. Each conversation with a peer/ alumni or industry professional will add to your knowledge and understanding of a sector/organization or occupation.  

• Give you ideas, advice and inspiration from others 

Gaining the advice of experienced professionals and/or alumni is an important benefit of networking. It can introduce you to jobs and sectors you didn't previously know about or help you understand the different routes or pathways into a career. Discussing challenges and opportunities also enables you to access valuable suggestions and advice.  

• Help you gain confidence communicating  

An important skill when developing connections is conversing, and the more you practice the more your confidence will grow. The more you talk about yourself and your goals whilst actively listening to others, asking engaging questions and having meaningful discussions, the more you will learn. 

• Identify hidden opportunities within the job market  

Letting your existing networks know you are actively seeking opportunities can lead to referrals to roles or experiences you otherwise may not have found. Read this article from Indeed.com for further advice on the ‘Hidden Job Market’.  

What is the hidden job market? Everything you need to know | Indeed.com UK 

• Develop your commercial awareness  

The more contacts you have across your fields of interest the more varied perspectives you can gain from across a sector. This can help you increase your commercial awareness, which is a key thing employers look for. Commercial awareness is in essence an understanding of how industries and organisations work. It’s all about knowing what’s going on in the world and analyzing the way it might impact on your chosen sector/role and company.

The ability to use contacts for purposeful career conversations is an important skill you can develop to be successful in your career.  You don’t have to have influential friends to be able to network, you can learn to do this effectively even if you think you have no useful contacts at all.  

Having an up to date and completed LinkedIn profile that reflects the best of you and your interests is an important starting point. Why not take time to look at our advice on making the most of your LinkedIn profile  

What is an informational interview? 

An informational interview is a career directed conversation learning from another’s experience. For a quick explanation watch this short video - Designing Your Career: The Informational Interview. Visit our Informational Interview guide for further details. 

Most people are flattered to be approached for advice and will enjoy it when there is meaning and purpose to the conversation. Remember you are NOT asking for a job, placement or internship. Instead, you are showing sincere curiosity in wanting to learn from another’s experience and insight. 

Top tips for a successful informational interview:   

• Do your research – understand what roles / experiences your contact has had and think about the kind of questions you want to ask them.  Make sure you have read their LinkedIn profile if they have one. You could do some preliminary research on their career area. Prospects has some excellent occupational profiles to help with this. For further help with preparing for your conversation see H/S resource.
• Try to meet in person – whilst it isn’t always possible to meet in person, it can really help to build rapport and ensures conversation flows. If this isn’t possible, try to have a video call, rather than just communicating over email. 
• Find more contacts – the professional you are talking to might know others in the sector who could share useful advice. Always ask if there is someone else they would recommend you talk with. If you make a good impression and they are happy to put you in touch with others, this could be a great opportunity. 
• Thank them – take the time to thank them for sharing their expertise with you. You can do this over an email and explain how helpful the conversation was. You can also use this as an opportunity to follow up on any offer they made to put you in contact with anyone else and ask them if it is appropriate to connect via LinkedIn.

It is never inappropriate to contact someone to ask for help. You will already have used networking skills, e.g. finding your student accommodation or asking others for a recommendations. If you enquire with curious intent, what is the ‘worst’ that can happen?  They say ‘no’ or direct you to someone else who can help. 

To help you identify useful contacts the university has several award winning and reputable schemes:  

• Ask An Alum  - a simple and reliable way to connect with our alumni who have already indicated they wish to help. You gain answers to your career questions, via a short email exchange. 
• The Career Mentor Scheme  - a popular employability scheme which matches a student or graduate with an experienced professional, for sector insight and one-to-one careers advice and guidance, over a 6-month period.  
• Professional Pathways  - a suite of sector specific training courses and paid 35-hour internships that take place in June each year.  

Exeter’s LinkedIn Alumni tool – a powerful resource for researching careers and expanding your network. Access the tool by going to the University of Exeter's LinkedIn page and clicking on the Alumni tab on the left-side navigation. This will then open a filterable interface where you can search by subject, job title, company and location. 

Here are some other ways to meet helpful contacts 

The exercise ‘Steps to help you identify your network of connections’ can help you to map out useful contacts. Why not make the most of: 

• Careers fairs / employers on campus – these numerous and varied events are detailed on Handshake.
• Alumni panel events organized by your faculty /department and advertised via Handshake.
• Work colleagues you are or may have worked with also make good sources of inspiration and information.
• Conferences or training events are great for meeting others with a shared interest.
• Other students you meet via clubs/societies or on your course provide valuable peer support.
• Academic staff especially if you are thinking of further study and wish to learn more from a recommended Postgraduate Researcher.
• Professional Associations as they often employ staff who can direct you to published careers information and members directories. They may have a local branch that you can join or a network of regional advisers. For further details visit the relevant sector page  

Some points to consider  

• Start with contacts with whom you have a common connection e.g. an Alumni or recommended contact – as they are more likely to want to help.
• Only approach people for whom you have a definite name and try to review their LinkedIn profile first.
• Clarify how you got the contact and outline the help you need.
• Keep notes of the discussion, your points of learning and useful next steps. These will be useful to reflect on your discussions and if you arrange further contacts.
• Remember safety first! Because most networking involves meeting with people that you know something about, personal safety is not normally an issue. However, you should try to get a personal introduction to each new contact you make. If you are meeting with a stranger, then to protect yourself you should:
  • Meet in a public place
  • Tell a trusted friend your plans
  • Walk away from any situation that makes you feel uncomfortable
  • Use your common sense.