One of the questions that came up when we asked students for input to the marketing, advertising and PR podcasts, was how to make networking effective? The student remarked that it was always recommended, but he rarely got responses to his emails. If this sounds familiar, you might like to have a listen to our new podcast on how to network, which includes plenty of tips and ideas for different approaches to try and identifying various kinds of networking opportunity.

Let's talk! Photo from thinkpanama.

One of the key points to remember is that networking isn’t about finding people to ask favours from, a prime reason to network is just to find out information. Getting a job offer from it should be a secondary concern. This article discusses the “informational interview” approach to networking in more detail, and gives this great example which demonstrates how it works and how to make connections, as well as being an admirable example of a motivated, focussed strategy to job-hunting through setting personal goals.

Ben Samples of Portland, OR provides a terrific networking interview success story.  “ When I graduated I found it very hard to break into the PR agency world.  I set a goal to arrange one informational interview per week with an established PR professional.  Using social media tools such as LinkedIn and Twitter I was able to connect with directors and managers who were willing to meet with me.  One informational interview turned into a job interview, which turned into an offer.  Two months ago I began working my dream job and I owe it all to informational interviewing.”

Networking is a bit of an art, but it is worth sticking at it as it is a beneficial skill to have throughout your career. Keep practising, trying various approaches (email, face-to-face, phone, social networking) to see what works best for you and your contacts.

Further reading

For more advice on networking and recommended books and resources, download our free careers information sheet Networking.

For examples of questions you might ask, to get you started, see my previous post on networking.