<p>I hear this term all the time, but what does it specifically entail with respect to being a college student? Like, how is one supposed to 'network'? Hang around with a bunch of cool kids?</p>
<p>Not even close, network with professionals in your respective industry that you are studying or pursuing a career in.</p>
<p>Not to sound stupid, but how exactly does one go about 'networking'? How does one get in contact with professionals?</p>
<p>I'm assuming when you say college student you're talking about undergraduates. As an undergrad you obviously can't network a whole lot with professionals. If you want to go into i-banking it's not like you're going to go hang out with a bunch of bankers from Goldman. The one thing you can do is make sure to attend all the campus presentations the companies put on. Attend all of their recruiting events. Meet the people in the firms you're interested in and make a good impression, follow up with them through email regularly. Don't be a pest but show genuine interest. At the undergrad level, most of the company reps that come to do campus recruiting are fairly junior themselves. When I was in college I remember it was mostly young analysts the banks would send with perhaps one or two more senior people. I had made a very good contact with a large asset mgmt firm I wanted to work for. I met the guy at a presentation and had a good conversation, I kept in touch with him via email at least a couple times a month. By the time recruiting came around I was essentially a "shoe-in" to get selected for an interview. Remember, that's the first hurdle - just getting an interview slot. And frankly if your 'networking' can help you just clear that hurdle you're already ahead of most people.</p>
<p>Thanks for the response SilverSpy. What about the interviews? How does one go about preparing for that? I've heard of a strategy where people elect to attend interviews at a bunch of firms, setting up their final interview with the target employer so that they can 'practice' their interview skills. Any say here?</p>
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I've heard of a strategy where people elect to attend interviews at a bunch of firms, setting up their final interview with the target employer so that they can 'practice' their interview skills. Any say here?
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<p>That's a pretty stupid way to practice interviewing. If you enjoy wasting other people's times and looking like a complete idiot, then go ahead and try. A real interview should take several days to a week to prepare for. You need to research the company you are interviewing with. You need to know enough about them to talk intelligently about what they do and to ask pertinent and insightful questions. </p>
<p>If you plan on walking blindly into these interviews, you are just putting yourself in a bad situation. It's certainly <em>bad</em> networking to go to interviews with the only intention of using them as a training tool. </p>
<p>You should walk into every interview extremely well prepared and be genuinely interested in the job. People can see through fakers.</p>
<p>I disagree completely. when applying for high-demand jobs with a low acceptance rate and a lot of "data noise" in the interview process, it's important to minimize mistakes and stand out any way you can. The best way to do this is practice. Just like how everyone could use a few practice girlfriends, everyone could use a few practice interviews (and, frankly, practice jobs). You're never good at something when you first start, so it's better to put off the really important / desired opportunities for when you know you're prepared for them.</p>
<p>Sure, you can be a tool and prepare for "several days to a week" for each particular interview. In my experience, all that does is stress you out. Take an hour and read their website, prepare some specific questions for the interviewer, and think through a few of the common questions that get asked in interviews. Show up 15 minutes early. OK, fine, all good advice. But a few days to a week? That, to me, sounds like an academic approach to what is a professional, business situation. In the real world, we don't have time to get the academically-perfect approach and get every last bit of data we can. You prepare, you approach it with confidence, and you figure it out as you go along because nobody comes programmed with all the answers.</p>
<p>Most good MBA programs will provide students with "practice interviews." However, I don't know how many undergrad schools do that and I would definitely say that one should try to interview with as many companies as possible. It makes good practice, but also gives you other options.</p>
<p>My graduating year the IT market went from students getting 4 to 5 offers the previous year to people getting their offers recinded in the spring of 2001. The people that put their marbles all in one basket were often f'ed. I bet they regret not taking that interview with the company in Amarillo (who wanted to live there?) that primarily used legacy programming languages (who wants to code in COBOL?). It'd be a hell of a lot better than having no job and having to start over from scratch.</p>
<p>practice interviews with Career Center staff sure helped me, but there's only so much they can do to simulate the real thing, and the thinking you have to do on the fly while thinking about everything from your posture and eye contact to word choice to keeping answers brief but provocative. it's an art, and very little except practice can help you master it.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses everybody! Although it probably won't matter until several years down the road, I'm wondering what does it mean to network as a professional (like a young IB Analyst) or an MBA student?</p>