Networking as an inexperienced first-year is not too different from Catfishing someone: I’m trying to get a stranger over the internet to fall madly in love with me, and offer me a plethora of opportunities, while at the same time trying to emphasize my “better features” through a false identity. Admittedly, I don’t use a false identity, or a photoshopped picture. Still, the digital age has made it so that every interaction we have with another human being is a carefully crafted expression of our best features- you have time to think of a witty joke, or the right line, before the other person actually receives it. Lady Gaga stated in an interview recently that this makes it so we are “unconsciously communicate lies,” and arguably, this is true. Yet, it’s what makes networking truly an art form.
Growing up, I never thought that I would be actually encouraged to talk to strangers on the internet- it seemed to go against all the principals of cyber-safety that I was taught in my elementary school computer classes. However, it turns out that talking to strangers on the Internet is one of the most pivotal ways one can enter his or herself into the mysterious professional world that I’ve talked about so many times before. There are so many services available for Scripps students to make connections, including LinkedIn, and Life Connections. I’ve found Life Connections to be the more reliable of the two- due to my lack of experience, I feel that by adding someone with my bare LinkedIn profile, I can come off like that creepy middle-aged guy who adds people on Facebook with no mutual friends. Life Connections, on the other hand, is full of Scripps alumni who have willingly asked to receive awkward networking emails from students. I also feel that Life Connections is easier to navigate, as you can search for Scripps alumni who live directly in your area, or any area.
The CP&R Career Services Guide provides a great template for sending out emails to Scripps alumni who work in the industry that you may be interested in- in my case, the non-profit industry, in New York City. A lot of it seems like common sense, which I like- it’s important to remember that these are just people you’re talking to, and coming at them kicking and screaming with your qualifications and demands for job offers is extremely uncomfortable. The Career Services Guide emphasizes focusing on the person you’re talking to; your own natural qualifications will come out throughout the interaction.
CP&R also offers several in-person networking opportunities, which can be found via the “Career Courier” that they send out every week. I’m not entirely sure that I’m ready for in-person networking; I’m intimidated enough behind the screen. However, just sending out a few networking emails today has already boosted my confidence. Even if I don’t get a response, I at least got to spend time looking at all the cool things that Scripps women have accomplished. Coming from a small town in New Jersey, where almost no one has ever heard of Scripps, I received a small inkling of hope when looking at them; even if I can’t get an internship this summer, things really will be okay.