<p>I've been in college for a week and there's always a vast majority that says "oh, well i look forward to networking in college". How is this even okay? I mean think about it, saying that you want to network is basically saying you want to 'use' someone just for the sake of yourself. It goes along the lines of saying "oh lets be friends cause your dad is rich". What do you guys think. Don't you guys think this is 'unethical' in a way?</p>
<p>Uh… no?
Networking is a great resource. Networking is not “using”- it’s putting yourself out there and getting your name known. </p>
<p>I just got a close friend of mine a job when I knew it was opening up and thought she’d be perfect for it. That’s part of networking. I’ve also had people call me when they’ve heard of job openings that they thought I’d be good for. </p>
<p>I don’t think you understand “networking” </p>
<p>Networking is just… meeting people. Would it make you feel better if people just said that they look forward to meeting people?</p>
<p>It also isn’t about making friends with people who are rich. It’s about making friends and meeting new people. It’s about introducing yourself to people in the field you want to work in, not because you want to “use” them but because they have valuable insight and advice about future career opportunities. You don’t have to be best friends with someone that you would otherwise never talk to just because they have a career that you’re aspiring too.</p>
<p>You’ll be behind the others if you don’t network. I got my job because a good friend of mine has an uncle who is an MD at a firm. Think of it as HR getting thousands of resumes and they have to select only fifty for a phone interview. You need a way in because each resume is going to look the same to them. HR even has a special term for networking it’s called employee referral meaning you know someone on the inside and they let you use them to get inside as well. </p>
<p>What? Networking is not “using people.” </p>
<p>Networking is building a group of friends and contacts. How could that possibly be unethical? I’m majoring in physics. It makes sense that I would want to be friends with other physics majors. If we all go into the research field, we could potentially collaborate on projects in the future, have contacts in other fields etc.</p>
<p>For example, if I’m working on a project that would benefit from some input from someone who is specializing in field x, I can call my friend who happens to be a specialist in field x to get his input. My friend then gets credited for his contribution to my research. </p>
<p>Conversely, if I’m a specialist in field y, and my friend needs some input from a specialist in field y, I will return that favor and provide that input. I will then receive some credit for my contribution.</p>
<p>It’s not just about building ‘professional’ contacts though. It’s about building groups of friends/colleagues who have mutual interests. These are people that you might run into time and time again at various national seminars/conferences. You might be visiting the institution that they are employed at in the future. The benefits could go on and on. Overall though, it’s about meeting and becoming friends with people who are in the same field as you. </p>
<p>But the real ‘connotation’ of networking isn’t just meeting people. The idea is that they’re building these groups of friend to DELIBERATELY find a job/information/etc. Is that not true? @baktrax @romanigypsyeyes </p>
<p>@HDMADCK But do you feel alright befriending a person just so you can have a ‘referral’?</p>
<p>@comfortablycurt It’s one thing if you naturally make friends along with your major because you’re stuck with them 24/7, and another if you become friends with someone just because you need them for future references and the ‘benefits that could go on and on’. Likewise (and this is just an example) if you end up marrying a ‘rich’ spouse and it so happened that they can help you pay the bills (benefits) versus you going out and deliberately looking for a rich spouse just so they can pay the bills</p>
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<p>In the sense that you form friendships DELIBERATELY for “companionship,” sure, I guess. </p>
<p>It’s not a negative thing. You’re not using people. You’re finding people in your field and getting yourself out there. You’re not going to be best friends with these people specifically to get a job. You’re going to be friendly and open yourself up so that they know about you and you know about them. </p>
<p>People “network” mostly organically. It’s in a conversation or at a convention or something. It’s not like you block out time to go talk to random people and “network” </p>
<p>You might meet people and make friends deliberately to find a job/information/etc, but I meet people just because… I like people. I talk to people not because I expect them to give me a job, but just because I happen to be around them and am making small talk, or I want to hear what they have to say, or we’re talking about something interesting, or a million other reasons why you might talk to someone. If it ends up being beneficial in the future career-wise, then that’s great. If it’s not, then I won’t feel like I wasted my time or that the connection was useless. At the end of the day, I still got to talk to an interesting person about interesting things. I’m not doing it because I hope they’ll get me a job.</p>
<p>All of my friends are just my friends with no extra strings attached. But do they know when I’m looking for a job? Sure, just because I tell them things about my life. Have I helped friends who were looking for a job? Sure, because they’re my friends and I like to help people. But would we not be friends if I wasn’t able to get them a job? Of course, we would still be friends. That’s ridiculous.</p>
<p>I feel like your issue comes up more with things like conferences or job fairs or something like that, where you’re specifically talking to professionals in your field because you want to get your name out there or to learn more about your field. But you’re not becoming best friends with them because you’re hoping they will give you a job. You’re talking to them so that you can both share knowledge–about your field, about a company, about your interests, whatever. That’s what a conversation is. The byproduct of that is that they know who you are and what you’re looking for.</p>
<p>I think networking can feel like using people if you actually are trying to use people. If you deliberately look for a rich spouse for the sole purpose of paying your bills and you have no other reason to spend time with them, then yes, you’re using them. But if you just look for people who share your interests or who just happen to be around you and you learn later that they are rich and can pay your bills, that’s not using someone. It’s a similar thing for networking. If you deliberately suck up to someone who you would never talk to otherwise because you want them to get you a job, then yes, that feels like using them. But if you are at an event and start talking to someone in your field about something and later they let you know about an opening at their company, I don’t consider that using them.</p>
<p>In a free society, we are single agents working on our own behalf. And… my rights end when my knuckles are a millimeter from the tip of your nose, so to speak. So unless you are in illegal activities, there’s nothing wrong with a handshake and a nod.</p>
<p>Everyone else has a right to make friends and improve job prospects through said friendships… so no, there’s nothing wrong with it. </p>
<p>Networking can be smarmy and self-serving. My professional network are all people that I either (1) consider friends, although many of them I met through work, and/or (2) people whom I know professionally and feel we have mutual respect for each other’s skills and work. Meeting someone once and calling in professional favors – IMHO, that is smarmy. Keeping in touch with people I have gotten to know, especially in a professional setting, is not. I really like using LinkedIn, and often suggest to college students that they create an account. People you should consider linking to:</p>
<ul>
<li>Anyone you meet through an internship or work related to your major. If you have met with them more than a couple of times and they know who you are, it is probably okay to ask to link with them.</li>
<li>Older students who are graduating that you know reasonably well.</li>
<li>Students your own age in your major that you know pretty well.</li>
<li>Professors.</li>
<li>Anyone who gives you an informational interview (ask them if they are okay with linking).</li>
<li>Maybe parents of friends if they work in the profession you are interested in, you have met them, and you have talked about the profession.</li>
</ul>
<p>Just keep doing this in college and in every job you have after college. It helps you stay in touch as people move between jobs and cities.</p>
<p>Some students are hesitant to send invitations to link. But LinkedIn is NOT like Facebook – they don’t have to be your friends (although some will be). It is about professional connections.</p>
<p>I really don’t see how it’s a bad thing. I’m not going to introduce myself to the head of a research department solely for the purpose of possibly procuring a job in the future. I’m introducing myself to them because I’m interested in their work and would like to know more about what they’re doing. </p>
<p>You don’t walk up to a “professional contact” and hand them your card while saying “Hi, I’m _________ and I’d like to add you to my network so you can help me get a job in the future.” It comes out of mutual interest and respect. Networking is not typically a deliberate thing. It’s something that happens naturally through meeting people in your field. </p>
<p>I develop a relationship with nearly all of the professors that I have classes in my major with. Sure, many of these professors will gladly write me letters of recommendation in the future, help me get into research internships etc., but I’m not developing relationships with them solely for that reason. I’m developing relationships with them because they are vastly more knowledgeable about the field than I am. I discuss certain things above and beyond course material with them, I ask questions about how one concept connects to another concept that may have been skipped in class. Then we often go on to talk about the bigger things. I’m a physics major, and after the announced confirmation of gravitational waves several months back, I sat and talked with one of my physics professors for nearly an hour about gravitational waves, which migrated to a discussion about Relativity in general (pun not intended). Was I networking? Yes. Is that why I had this conversation? Not at all. Did I learn a ton of fascinating stuff that is very far removed from my current courses? Absolutely. </p>
<p>^ Agreed. </p>
<p>I run a project that has a lot of undergrads on it. I constantly have undergrads emailing me or trying to come to my office to meet me. I don’t mind in the least. I know they’re not coming just to chitchat or because I’m a super awesome fantastic person. I’m really happy that they’re interested in our project and I welcome the opportunity to see if they’re a good fit. </p>