Back with another video on how to network in college.
And if you caught the last video, then hopefully you're already taking advantage of some great
on-campus networking opportunities.
But if you're ready to branch out for more, and you're looking for some inspiration on
how you can do that off-campus, then you'll want to stick around for today's video.
And in the meantime, if you haven't already, go ahead and hit that subscribe button below
so that you can join this network.
Hey there, I'm Jenna Rein from theinternhustle.com, and this is Initiative Muscle Monday.
Helping you to start each week with an intentional step toward a successful future.
Let's do this!
So you're ready to start putting your networking skills to the test, and step outside of your
campus bubble.
But where do you go?
And do you have to actually find events that say "networking event" in the title in order
to grow your network?
The answer is no.
There are tons of opportunities out there that you can start attending today, that don't
scream...awkward networking event.
So we're actually going to start with one of the ones that makes most people uncomfortable,
but proves to be one of the more valuable ways to go about networking.
So off-campus networking opportunity #1 is cold outreach.
I want you to use your student status while you can.
Most people love helping out a college student...so play it up.
The first thing I want you to do is identify a couple individuals that you would like to
connect and learn more from.
So this could be someone in your industry, perhaps an alumni from your university.
Or it could just be a professional that you look up to for their leadership skills, their
public speaking ability, whatever it may be - identify one or two individuals that you
can reach out to and ask for an informational interview.
You want to ask professionally of course, so once you get their contact information
-- whether it's their email address, or a phone call (a phone number), oh my gosh - people
still do that you guys!
Sometimes you might have to ask them on LinkedIn too if you can't find their contact information.
But whatever it may be, make sure that you are prepared going into that ask.
So do your research on this individual, respect their time, and make a professional ask if
they're willing to sit down with you for an informational interview.
And as Mel Robbins would say with her 5-second rule - don't overthink it.
Count backwards from 5 and just do the thing.
Believe me, it gets easier over time.
I often get asked, "how did you get an internship with the Chicago Bulls?"
Well, I just asked.
Yea, I got the phone number for the head strength and conditioning coach for the Chicago Bulls,
and I called him.
A few times, sure, I had to follow up -- But once I got a hold of him, I asked for an informational
interview, and ultimately that led to my internship.
Off-campus networking opportunity #2 is young professional clubs, or other meetups.
No matter what city you're in, there are a ton of things that you could be going to.
You just gotta start.
So do a google search, look for young professional clubs in whatever city you're in, or go to
meetup.com and search by interest and location.
And just start tapping into these events.
A lot of them are free.
You just have to take the time to do the research, put them on your calendar, and then attend
them.
And while you're there, don't forget to do your business card.
Have you made your business card yet?
Do you have a student business card?
You should.
And if you don't, don't worry, it's really easy to do.
I have great tips for how to create a memorable student business card in a blog post I've
written so I will link that in the description below.
Make sure to check it out and don't forget to bring your business card.
Off-campus networking opportunity #3: alumni bars.
Yea, this is my favorite one!
So if you are traveling in a new city, or you maybe are home in your home state from
a school break, look up your alumni bar.
See what they have going on.
A lot of times they put on different events throughout the year with the local alumni
in that chapter.
And if it is football season, or basketball season, there is bound to be a game watch
going on there every week.
So you can get in front of people from your school, start to have some genuine conversations
with alumni from your school, and bond over cheering your team on.
You know, not only is it bringing together a bunch of people from your university to
one place, but it's bringing together a bunch of people who have graduated from your university
-- which means they're professionals.
And who knows what doors they might be able to open for you.
And as we've talked about already, people like to help college students.
And guess what?
Alumni love to help college students from their school.
So make sure you're taking advantage of this opportunity to go have some fun and have some
conversations with fellow alumni.
And say there's not an alumni bar in the place you're going to, or it's not basketball season
and there's not enough stuff going on at a local alumni bar -- still look on your school's
website, and check out to see if they have any alumni and student events that they put
on.
Often times, schools are organizing alumni dinners where they are pairing up students
and alumni that have similar interests over a nice meal that they pay for.
And it's just a great way to get you connected with people from your school who might be
able to help you professionally.
Off-campus networking opportunity #4: your family.
Yea.
Are you sharing with your family members what your professional goals are?
Because chances are if you were, that you may have already been introduced to someone
in their professional network.
And it's a known fact that parents love talking about their kids, and so if you give them
something to talk about -- let them know what your professional interests and goals are
-- then the next time they're having a conversation with a friend they might just be able to bring
it up in conversation and who knows that could become your next internship opportunity.
The importance here is that you are consistently talking to the people who love you the most,
and would give anything to help you out on your professional journey.
So don't assume that they're reading your mind, or that if you mentioned something years
ago in passing that you're interested in, that they're going to remember that.
Get in front of them often and let them know.
And if your career interests or goals change along the way, just make sure you're keeping
them up to date.
And speaking of family networking -- weddings are a gold mine.
So make sure that you are taking advantage of this opportunity to get in front of family
and friends of family that you maybe haven't seen in a long time, and network your little
butt off.
Off-campus networking opportunity #5 is certification courses.
So your career of interest, or your career field of interest, does it have a certification
that's required?
Or would there be a couple certifications that you could get, that aren't required,
that would help your resume stand out on top of a pile?
Look into those.
And often times they have certification courses that you can do over a weekend.
So for example, when I was in college I wanted to be a strength and conditioning intern.
And one of the certifications that I looked to obtain was the certified club coach for
USA Weightlifting.
So I learned how to coach the Olympic lifts.
I went to a very simple weekend course and I met people within that course who all had
very similar interests to mine, and as it turned out there was a guy in that course
who was interning with the Chicago Bulls that summer.
I built a genuine relationship with him, established trust, and by the end of the course I asked
him if he would give me the phone number for head strength and conditioning coach of the
Chicago Bulls.
And as I mentioned already, you guys know, I did my cold outreach and I called him (a
few times) but I got that internship.
So it was through this certification course that the connection even came to be, and there
are so many opportunities out there where you can get certified, learn a new skill set,
and meet some new people along the way.
Off-campus networking opportunity #6 -- the final one for today's video -- internships.
I mean this is The Intern Hustle, you guys didn't think I was going to end this video
without talking about the value of internships and how that establishes and grows your network.
Did you?
So I know it's pretty straight forward -- if you think about it, you're meeting a ton of
people when you're at an internship.
Great easy way to grow a network.
But I'm going to illustrate that with a story from my own intern hustle so that you have
some ideas for how to go about it.
So as you know I interned with the Chicago Bulls one summer when I was in college.
And I had a bunch of duties as an intern with the Chicago Bulls, but I was a strength and
conditioning intern so on a daily basis I was in charge of training the Bulls players
that would come into the facility.
But on top of that, there were a bunch of high school and college athletes that came
into the facility to train as well.
Their parents were involved somehow within the Bulls organization so they had the privilege
of using the Bulls training facility.
Pretty awesome.
As an intern, however, it was my responsibility to train them.
And so I could have looked at this as a "I don't wanna do that task, I'd much rather
be training an NBA player", but I took it in stride with all of my regular internship
duties and I got to know these student athletes.
One of them was a high school basketball player.
And as it turns out, after building a relationship with this student-athlete over the course
of my 8-week internship, I found out his dad was a prominent sports agent.
Well, pretty awesome, because at that point in my career discovery I had decided I wanted
to work in sports management in some way.
So...you guessed it....I asked for his father's phone number.
And in the same way that I got the Bulls internship, by repetitively calling the strength coach
and asking for an informational interview, I did that with the sports agent as well.
So just goes to show that you never know who you're going to meet at an internship, and
that you should always keep an open mind in all of the conversations you're having and
build genuine relationships with people.
Because you never know what doors those are going to open for you next.
To wrap it up, understand that the best networking happens face to face.
But, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the power of the opportunity that is within LinkedIn.
There's a lot of power in social networking.
So my question to you...is do you have a LinkedIn profile?
And is it up to date?
And have you ever thought about using the Alumni Tool that is in LinkedIn?
Cause that is a great way to connect with people from your university who might be in
your same industry, or at a company that you hope to work at someday.
So back to the cold outreach, it's an awesome opportunity to identify people within your
own alumni network.
But, if you don't have a LinkedIn profile, or it's not a strong LinkedIn profile, then
it's not going to do you much good.
So lucky for you, I have a comprehensive online training, specifically for college students,
on how to build up your LinkedIn profile and then maximize the power of the LinkedIn network.
So I will link to that in the description below.
Go ahead and sign up for your free access to check it out, and start using LinkedIn
today.
So what do you think?
Are you ready to start putting some of these off-campus networking opportunities into action?
Are you looking for on-campus networking opportunities?
I covered that in the last video so I will link to it on the next screen and in the description
below.
And next week I'm going to be back to teach you how you can keep these people in your
network, and really build long-lasting relationships with them over time.
If you found this video helpful, please go ahead and give it a like, share it with a
friend or two, and then in the comments below let me know what school you're tuning in from.
I will be back here next Monday with another video.