By: Jason Eisenberg
Community Program Manager for Office Depot
The mindset as you attend college – or enter young adulthood – is to prepare for the real world. Unfortunately, preparing for the real world is a daunting task that no one can master completely because the world is big, sometimes scary and occasionally unpredictable. That’s why forging and fostering both business and personal relationships can be so crucial to your personal and professional success. A study by LinkedIn reveals that while results may vary based on the type of candidate (employed, unemployed, passive, ‘tiptoer’), networking was the primary means of landing a job.
On the flipside, if you’re looking to hire for your business, having a reliable network can make finding the right fit for your company all the easier.
If You Build It, They Will Come
You must begin building your network before you even realize you need one. Many young adults are hesitant to put themselves out there because people often consider youth a weakness due to lack of experience. But really, that youthful drive to learn and meet everyone can be a major asset – and some of the older, more experienced business owners and experts may take notice. You’d be surprised how many business owners want to take a young professional under their wing. After all, it grows their network and can potentially pay dividends in the future.
So, first thing’s first… just get out there. Go to networking events – which you can likely find through your school, on social media and Meetups – consider bringing your business cards and make an impression. It’s helpful to remember that it’s not easy for everyone to be social and network – humans (like myself) can be awkward! A great tip from 5 Networking Secrets Every Young Person Should Know is to be the icebreaker, providing relief to others so they don’t have to start the conversation. This can give you social value.
Instead of rattling on about how amazing you’re doing, let your new friend talk about their favorite subject – themselves. This is where you listen and key in on problems and pain points you think you can help them with.
Why Am I Helping Them When I Need a Network to Help Me?
This is the foundation for all strong networking relationships. Hank Blank’s Networking Tips for College Students and Young People Who Hate to Network made an interesting observation, saying we used to live in a world of “this is what I got”. But now these are the times to have the mentality of “this is how I can help”.
You can volunteer your time and knowledge where you know you’ll get the right exposure for your work. The more (and more effectively) you can teach, the more people will want to connect with you. You can do this at local events and meetups, as well as on social media platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook. Office Depot has Small Business Groups on both platforms to help build community and to find helpful content to distribute.
Networking can be more than just scratching each other’s backs. It can forge a partnership that may yield great things for both parties. As public speaker and writer, Deepak Chopra, once said:
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