Spring into Action: Helping Students Grow their Network Using Informational Interviewing
Lauren R. Barrett
Some of the most valuable networking resources for students are rooted in their family, friends and community connections. These are aunts and uncles, neighbors, members of religious and community organizations, and colleagues of family members. To help students bridge networking connections, family members will often facilitate introductions, pass along resumes, and make calls on the behalf of students; however, one of the best ways to help your student build a stronger, more influential network is by encouraging them to grow their informational interviewing skills.
These transferable skills help students grow as more confident communicators and enable them to articulate their strengths and goals to others, which is an essential skill for the “big” interview! Practicing interviewing skills within their network can help students polish their delivery, and as family members, you can help your student to gain this valuable skill.
Step One: helping students identify networking connections within the community. Your family, friends and colleagues can all be career resources, and part of this is teaching students to identify these individuals. Drawing on connections related to industry and skill set, you can help your student map their most valuable resources and focus their attention on building these networking connections. Remember, meaningful network connections have relationships built on something in common – a field of study, a passion for a topic, or a shared skill set. Encourage your students to seek out UMBC alumni in their career field, or come to the Career Center to gain networking skills through one of our events. The wider a student’s network, the more potential opportunities exist.
Step Two: allowing your student to do the talking! Family members are eager to help students make these connections, but the students are best served by taking the connection and building their own relationship through informational interviewing. The best informational interviewing is not based on job seeking; rather, it’s based on having an open mind and a willingness to listen and learn from a professional in the field, and asking questions that will spark conversations and build rapport. Encourage students to set up a separate meeting time in a professional environment so that they can gain perspective about the work environment while having some of their questions answered. Some sample informational interviewing questions are:
· What skills and characteristics are most important to do well in this type of work?
· What might I expect in a typical day working in this job?
· As a student, what do you recommend that I do prior to graduation to make myself a marketable candidate for this work?
· Are you a member of any professional organizations related to this field, or can you recommend any for students?
Step Three: encouraging students to foster their network. Often, we make wonderful networking connections in passing moments at events or through shared connections; however, without continuing these conversations and following up, these connections fizzle out, so the art of following up is essential. Encourage your students to write thank you notes, reach out with career updates, and make time for using LinkedIn and other networking platforms to keep these connections thriving. These seedlings may blossom into opportunities in the big picture!