Your professional network is made up of many different types of connections. Family members, friends, classmates, fellow club members, former colleagues, UMass alums, professors, and hiring managers all represent single nodes in your network. As you begin your career or internship search, take some time reflecting on who is already in your network, who you want to add to your network, and how you plan to flex your network to land a job!
Step 1: Think of an area of your life where you have personal connections that could help you professionally (ex: school, club, former job, family and friends). Write down two connections you have in that area.
| Networking Area: | Connection 1: | |
|---|---|---|
| Connection 2: |
Step 2: Find those connections on LinkedIn and look at who they are connected to. Do you see anyone working for a company you’re interested in? Maybe someone who has a similar background or interests to you? Write those connections to your connections down
| Connection 1: | C.1.1: | |
|---|---|---|
| C.1.2: | ||
| Connection 2: | C.2.1: | |
| C.2.2: |
Step 3: Generate a list of focused questions for each connection that you could use when reaching out via LinkedIn. These should be focused and specific based on your mutual connection, the company they work for or a burning (not easily googled) question about working in the industry. ****
| Question 1: | Question 2: | |
|---|---|---|
| C.1.1 | ||
| C.1.2 | ||
| C.2.1 | ||
| C.2.2 |
Step 4:
Repeat! Practice “passive” networking by looking at profiles on LinkedIn that interest you. What was the person’s first job or internship? What was their 3rd? All of this information will help you as you drill down on the types of roles you target and how you can talk to the people in your network!