Some say it's who you know, not what you know. For better or for worse, this statement is often true in school, work, and life.
Networking in college is about getting your foot in the door for different opportunities, both in college and out of college. This article covers what networking is, how it serves you as a student, and how it serves you after graduation.
What Is Networking?
Merriam-Webster's dictionary defines networking as "the cultivation of productive relationships for employment or business."
So, what does cultivating productive relationships, particularly in a college setting, look like?
Networking at the college level is getting to know people. These people can include
your professors, peers, university staff, or your mom's friend who owns a small business and is looking for someone with your skillset.
How Networking Serves You as a Student
Networking can serve you as a student via scholarship opportunities. Yes, this pulls away from the above definition since scholarships are not "employment or business" scenarios. But the "cultivation of productive relationships" still applies here; you can network to help you earn scholarships.
An online college planning tool,
CollegeRaptor, says, "There are several scholarships that are not listed online for several reasons" and "[t]he only way to find out about these opportunities is to network."
This article suggests students contact family members to "[f]ind out if their employers offer scholarship awards to worker's family members." It also encourages students to
contact their school counselor and any employers they may have. And if you can, connect with people who are running scholarships. Ask around. Do not be shy. You might save some money!
How Networking Serves You After Graduation
Networking serves you after graduation by
unlocking potential job opportunities.
Take a look at this hypothetical situation from
Investopedia's "Who You Know, Not What You Know Might Matter More":
Consider a situation in which two undergraduates are hoping to get the last spot in a specific graduate school program. The first person has better grades than the second, but the second is best friends with the dean of admission's son. Who do you think will get that last spot?
This question is rhetorical. The person with connections will get the job. Whether or not this is ideal or even good, this is how job-searching works. The more connections, the better.
To network in a way that serves you after graduation, begin by connecting with the people around you. The, "What Is Networking," section discusses talking to professors, peers, and others; yet to expand your network, go further.
Ask your professors to introduce you to their friends that run a business or work at a clinic — those friends that are doing what you want to be doing after you graduate college. Ask them if they "know a guy" who needs you with the knowledge you have, like the knowledge to create a website or run a social media account.
Keep in touch with
major-specific peers. When a peer gets hired, you can pull on that connection and have a better chance of getting hired at their workplace too.
Another part of networking for a job is using your college career center. According to
Indeed, these centers "make connections and partner with companies to ensure students have opportunities to pursue a career through job fairs and employment search portals."
This means that career centers can help you network. They have the resources to reach out to potential employers that you do not have access to.
Networking for after graduation also looks like getting internships, according to
U.S. News & World Report. The article quotes Colleen Monks, director of a career advancement center: "Internship experiences introduce students to a whole new world of professional contacts."
Internships put students in their prospective professional field — and that is where students can make connections. Even if the internship lasts a few months, the connections live on.
How Networking Serves You in Both
With all that being said, does the idea of networking sound… selfish? Self-seeking? If so, you are not alone. After all, networking is about making connections for your future's sake.
This is why I love what Rakshitha Arni Ravishankar from
Harvard Business Review writes, "Yes, networking can help you land jobs and gain access to new opportunities. But it can also be about making genuine connections, knowledge sharing, and giving back to others."
Networking is wonderful because it connects you with people (and people to you). Such connections can transform into relationships that last through school, work, and life—relationships (possibly friendships) that can last years after graduation. Does it always happen? No. But can it? Possibly. Probability rises with that first step—connecting.
Network also involves "knowledge sharing." Meghan Gallagher from a
Forbes article says it "creates a support system" that allows those in the system to encourage "each other and [share] information."
To go about networking in a way that emphasizes others, the Harvard Business Review piece says, "consider using [networking] to offer your knowledge, skills, advice, or expertise to other people — even when you don't need or want something in return." If you have something to offer someone, offer it. Pursue ways you can help others. (As a side note, I encourage you to do that anyway, whether you are networking or not!)
Final Thoughts on College Networking
Networking is not a perfect science, and it does not promise anything. Networking only promises potential—the possibility of getting hired because the people in HR know you already.
Take advantage of networking in college, both for your sake as a student but also for your sake as a
future professional. It just might come in handy.