Are you looking to network within your field of professional interest? Like everything else, networking can now be done online, and LinkedIn is the tool to use. It is important to ensure that your LinkedIn profile is informative and visually appealing. Start with these tips and you’ll be well on your way to building a solid LinkedIn network.
Did you know that during the 2016 – 2017 academic year, the Mount Holyoke Career Development Center hosted more than 30 employers on-campus for information sessions, including Google, McKinsey & Company, Barclays and Teach for America?
Fall is an especially busy time for these events, which provide an excellent opportunity for you to meet employers — and for them to meet you! If you’ve never been to an information session before, or have attended one but weren’t quite sure if you were “doing it right,” here are some pointers from our external relations experts.
“What do you want to do when you grow up?” Chances are you’ve been answering some version of this question since you were little. By tossing out an old standby of an answer, picking from a rotation of favorites or voicing whatever suddenly popped into your capricious mind. To the delight, amusement or surprise of your audience. As kids will do!
Now you are here at college. And this question may loom larger than it ever has before. Especially if you don’t know the answer! Perhaps what you thought you wanted has changed, or the world and your understanding of it has changed. Or maybe you’ve determined to find — but have yet to uncover — the thing that gives you real and meaningful purpose.
Think you'll be swimming in free time come the start of the school year, and looking for fresh ways to spend it?
Riiiight. I didn’t think so. But even with classes, athletics, orgs, jobs and everything else a Mount Holyoke College student commits to, it’s important to keep career planning in the picture. Who knows when the next great opportunity will come your way? Luckily, Mount Holyoke is filled with resources to help you. Here’s a month-by-month guide to finding the perfect internship.
What comes to your mind when you hear “networking”? A room full of strangers? Professional business attire? Handshakes? Business cards? A paralyzing fear of awkward conversation?
OK, hopefully not that last one, true though it may be. As a junior, soon to be jumping into my senior year, I suggest you put those clichéd notions aside. Networking is not as bad as you might think. And it can even be quite different from what you think. My path to debunking networking myths has been paved by my friends, colleagues and other amazing people that I’ve met at Mount Holyoke. Look no further: Much needed help is already around you.
