A few weeks ago, I mustered up the courage to email a Scripps alumna I knew was involved in the ad industry about getting more information about the internship process and to see if she had any helpful information for me. She was great to talk to and gave me so much information! Through the experience I learned several things:

The first, use CP&R, parents, or friends to find someone in the industry you’re interested in. You can even ask for speakers’ contact information! Get their email, offer your available times, and send the email on its way.

In addition to this, don’t be afraid to reach out to people you might not know personally and ask for information (especially our Scripps alums)! Many of these people have a wealth of knowledge they would love to share. The alum I talked to was so kind and had planned out a mini-lesson about different divisions, the application process, and companies to look into. Not everyone is willing to talk, but most want to or will direct you to someone who can answer your questions more accurately.

The third point I didn’t consider until it came time to write the email was to know what you don’t know. In your intro email point out what areas you have knowledge in, what information you need more on (departments, application timing, hard skills that would be helpful), and any basic background info on yourself. This helps the contact tailor your upcoming call or answer any questions directly via email.

I hope these thoughts help you network more effectively and get all the information you need!

I recently returned from studying abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark and while the experience is just as amazing as everyone tells you, it becomes extremely stressful to look for internships or connections while you’re simultaneously going to school, meeting new people, and traveling. Something I definitely would recommend to students planning on going abroad is to leave with a game plan. Talk to CP&R about when applications for certain industries are released and when they’re due, ask yourself if you genuinely think you will have the time to memorize case studies for consulting interviews or if you should look into another form of internship, and most importantly, update and edit your comprehensive resume before you go overseas (yes, you might say you’re going to work on your wording and formatting on the plane to Paris, but are you really?).

Some other helpful nuggets that I wish I’d had before going abroad are:

• Check your college’s newsletters, emails, and Facebook pages—if an event or talk interests you, ask if you can be there via Skype, have someone take notes, or interview the speaker later.
• Make one big spreadsheet of all the due dates, applications, and necessary information and then set up alerts on your phone so you can turn them in on time.
• Share your career plans with everyone—abroad friends, abroad professors, guest lecturers, your parents, your friends at home… everyone. They might have a career path you wouldn’t have thought of before, or a connection you might utilize.
• Talk with older friends and students to see how they prepped for their applications. If you’re applying for a political consulting job, you might not know you have to prepare with extra materials until its too late.

Being connected to professors and peers internationally is also a huge advantage that your peers might not have and you should definitely use it! Do you have any other tools that helped you network from abroad? Let me know in the comments below!