By Jennifer Seidman, Graduate Career Management Center
Career Advisor
We all have been invited to “Networking Events” and possibly
attend them with dread, or even worse, do not go at all. We think: I
am not comfortable walking up to complete strangers, or I am not looking for a
job right now, or the people there can’t help me, or I do not have the time. Well, I am here to tell you that based on
hundreds of interactions I’ve had with graduate students, carving out time in
your busy schedule and overcoming your discomfort to attend these events is
vital to your career!
Building a network takes time and it doesn’t happen in one
encounter. For example, there is such a
great opportunity for our students to prepare for the Fall recruiting season
way before the Fall semester even happens.
In the next couple of months there are 20+ Zicklin Graduate Club Events,
many of which will have employers in attendance. Now maybe those employers are not hiring at
this moment, and possibly the employee you meet today will no longer be working
for that same firm in the near future, but none of that matters.
Having multiple touch points over time is the key to
building a network. As an example, on
February 4th EY hosted a Fraud Investigation event. If you attended that event and then
participated on February 24th in EY’s information session, you now
not only have more insight into EY, but from EY’s perspective you are showing
significant interest in their firm.
Next, EY will be back on campus on March 17th to present How
to Handle Difficult Workplace Situations.
But you say to yourself: I am not
currently working so I do not need to listen to a discussion on problems in the
workplace. But you would be so
wrong! A profound message is sent to EY each time you attend one of their
events, and if you attend the March 17th discussion, you will have
met with an EY employee for a third time!
The payoff is not immediate, but when EY comes back to
recruit at Baruch in the Fall, those students who have showed interest in their
firm over time are the memorable ones.
Those are the students that have made an impression, have shown genuine
interest and will be more comfortable and likely have more to talk about when
reintroducing themselves at the CPA fair and recruiting events.
Even that employee, who no longer works at EY, will
appreciate you reaching out to them at their new firm. You now can let them know you met a few times
at EY events and wanted to congratulate them on their new role. Guess what? You just e
To get a head start with your networking skills; check out our list of events coming up this Spring:
