Did you know... Networking is about making connections and building relationships? Did you networking can be a great way to talk with professionals in order to learn what skills are needed in a particular career field, what career paths are possible, what steps you should take next as you develop your career plan, navigate your internship or job search, or plan for post-graduate education?

When you begin to network, it is very important to know enough about yourself so that you can confidently begin a conversation that will give others information that will enable them to start thinking about how they could help you. If you need help determining what you like to do, the Know Yourself section has many resources and self-assessment tools to help you.

When you begin to build your network, there are two primary sources you can use to locate appropriate people to network with: alumni or your own personal contacts.

FriarLink
This Alumni-Student Career Network is a resource of over 800 PC alumni willing to share their career expertise with students. To begin using FriarLink, schedule an appointment with the a Career Advisor in The Career Services Office. After a brief meeting about FriarLink and the best practices of networking, your username and password will become activated and you will be able to search the Alumni database.

Events
Throughout the academic year The Office of Career Services hosts events that are great occasions to network with faculty, students, alumni, employers and other professionals. Check out the Events section for a full list of opportunities.

Personal or Professional Contacts
Networking contacts can also be developed from your own personal network or through contacts developed through your own research. Consider the following as you brainstorm people who can REFER you to contacts:

• Family, friends, neighbors, former neighbors, parents of classmates
• Faculty, high school teachers, departmental alumni
• Past employers, supervisors, clients, or customers
• Professionals: lawyers, doctors, insurance agents, etc.
• Community: Chamber of Commerce, clubs, professional associations, librarians,  etc.
• Networking Groups

An informational interview is an appointment, typically 20-30 minutes, which you schedule with an individual in a career field of interest for the purpose of gaining career information from an "insider" point of view. In addition to being helpful for exploring careers, informational interviews can be valuable as you launch your internship, or job search.

Although an informational interview typically takes place in person, you can also correspond with professionals via email or conduct an informational interview via phone. Regardless of the format, an informational interview is your chance to learn more about an area of interest and gain valuable networking contacts.