Hi lovely readers! This is my first post for Beyond the Elms, and I’m so excited to contribute to the career navigation process. One of the things that I have learned throughout my time at Scripps is to challenge myself and step out of my comfort zone. My friends would normally describe me as being bubbly and more outgoing, but I definitely get shy with reaching out to people. It took me a while to figure out how to project my voice to potential employers and express my desire to learn in a professional environment. Overall, I think one of the most important things to have while navigating one’s career (also the internship experience) is definitely networking.

Even the word networking just sounds fancy. Whenever I think of networking, I always think of fancy suits, business cards, rooftop gardens, and fancy finger food (probably because I watch too much TV). That first impression was probably the reason why I was scared of the idea. However, with practice comes competence. Although one conversation might not directly lead to a job offer, it definitely makes yourself known to professionals who are potential employers or people who can help you have a better idea of what you are interested in doing as a career. Networking can present itself in different ways. Last month I had the chance to participate in the Emerging Professionals Program at Scripps, and I had the opportunity to meet a lot of professionals in different industries. There was one professional in the accounting industry that I wanted to speak with, so I took a deep breath and sent an email expressing my interest in a telephone conversation. Luckily, the experience went well and I was able to find out more about a certain career. Also, this person expressed that he was impressed with my ability to reach out and take initiative (see, it pays off somehow right?). For starters to the networking process, I definitely recommend telephone conversations if you are more of a person who likes more one-on-one conversations.

Here’s a short video that I found helpful on what kind of questions to ask:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2015/03/04/30-questions-to-ask-in-an-informational-interview/#3a51c3be57c7

There are also plenty of networking events that goes on at the Claremont Colleges. At the end of the EPP Program, we got to travel to Pasadena for a student alumni networking event. I’m not going to lie, I was pretty nervous and my palms were sweating. I have mostly done telephone conversations, so I wasn’t sure how to approach someone in a group setting. I found the same kind of rules apply in terms of what to ask, but if I had to give short advice re: in person networking, it would definitely be:
1) Maintain eye contact and smile
2) Although food is great, it’s definitely not attractive to be talking with a bunch of food in one’s mouth. (speaking from personal mistakes)
3) Be yourself and be confident

Happy Networking!