Undergraduate Blog / Career Development

The Longest 4-Letter Word

To most people, the word “networking” is a like four-letter word: something bad, heinous, and undesirable. However, with the proliferation of social networking sites, it’s never been easier to manage your networking contacts. After all, the 30 minutes per day* that the average college student spends on Facebook, is just another form of networking. Anytime you ask your friend, where they got their hair cut or where they bought that handbag, you’re also networking. And every time you make a new friend, shake hands with a new person, or introduce yourself to a mutual contact, you are networking.

So with all this constant networking going on, it’s no surprise that 70% of job hunters find their jobs through networking. Read that again: 70%! So if you’re not networking, then you’re not really job hunting. Period. End of Story.

However, there is a difference between social networking and social networking for a job. I wouldn’t consider updating your Facebook status to reflect the fact that you finally rocked Led Zeppelin on Expert Mode in Guitar Hero appropriate job networking (unless of course you are looking for a video game testing job with Activision). But updating your status to inquire whether any of your friends knows someone in HR at Activision may actually help your job search “networking.”

And I would be remiss in mentioning online networking if I didn’t talk about Linked-In. Linked In is a “professional networking” site where you can maintain your “business” contacts instead of your “social contacts.” I hate to quote Wikipedia, but… they highlight the following as some of the unique features of linked in:

  • A contact network is built up consisting of their direct connections, the connections of each of their connections (termed second degree connections) and also the connections of second degree connections (termed third degree connections). This can be used to gain an introduction to someone you wish to know through a mutual, trusted contact.
  • It can then be used to find jobs, people and business opportunities recommended by someone in one’s contact network.
  • Employers can list jobs and search for potential candidates.
  • Job seekers can review the profile of hiring managers and discover which of their existing contacts can introduce them.

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linked_in)

So as a college student, maybe you don’t have a whole lot of “business contacts” but maybe your former boss from your internship at Company Y does. And she is connected to someone at Company X, which has a job that you just applied for. Reach out to her! Get Linked In! Network! Linked In allows you to request a “virtual introduction” to a mutual contact which can help you find out about job leads, follow up on applications, and set up informational interviews. So if you haven’t done it yet: GET LINKED IN!

There is a link to Linked In the CCD portlet. Portal.babson.edu Career Center (Useful Links)