Students learn value of networking
Utah State University students looking for employment after graduation should consider networking to raise their chances of finding a job.
In today’s job market, nearly 70 percent of the currently employed earned their jobs with the aid of personal contacts, said USU Career Services Center Director, Dave Hart. Those students expecting to job hunt in a market where four out of five jobs go unadvertised will find the tool of networking a necessity.
According to the Career Center’s Web site at www.usu.edu/career, networking is essentially establishing contact with professionals in a specific field who might assist a person in acquiring or learning about a job. It can be visiting with a professional to learn about a company or job, talking with managers, directors and contacting personnel departments, which can inform a job-seeker about vacancies.
The Career Center is a great place to start for those students trying to find contacts in the field they hope to enter, Hart said.
Located in a binder in the Career Center and on the Web site are the names and contact information of hundreds of alumni who have offered to advise and talk with students about the jobs they hold, Hart said.
“The names are organized by college, mostly,” Jennifer Loscher, Career Center assistant director, said. “By logging in to the e-Recruiting site on the Web, students can access the information of up to 10 alumni per month, or they can just come in and look at the hard copy.”
Career Center staff member Leanne Loscher said, “Once you click on a college, you can be more specific. You can go into the ‘mentor’ site and find a professional mentor directly related to your major.”
Hart said, “Once you identify those people you want to contact, come up with some questions you hope they can answer. The alumni can tell you about the company they work for, about the cost of living in the area they work or critique your résumé. They really want to be able to help students out, or they wouldn’t sign up.
“It’s really a great resource,” Hart said. “I’d like to report that it is extensively used – unfortunately, it isn’t.”
He said students may be nervous about phoning someone they don’t know or they aren’t aware the service exists.
“However, in a tight job market you want to use every resource you can,” Hart said.
One of the reasons networking can be so important is because of the inconsistency of the job market.
“The last eight years have been the best I’ve seen for the job market. This year, it went down the toilet,” he said.
In times where the job market is tight, an office like the Career Center, which can teach students interviewing skills, direct them to job opportunities and help them develop résumés is invaluable, Hart said.