Just the word ‘networking’ has a lot of connotations attached to it – many people think it is an embarrassing experience, hard work and only for Oxbridge graduates. Well, they’re wrong! Most people naturally network every day without even realising they’re doing it, whether it’s meeting friends of friends at a barbeque or meeting people in the industry you’re interested in at university talks.

The importance of networking is sometimes overlooked by graduates who are timid about talking to people in an industry they are new to. Not all graduate positions are advertised widely to universities and on graduate recruitment websites and instead these positions are filled by graduates who have contacts in the company already. When people say it’s not what you know but who you know, they’re not far wrong in a lot of cases! This isn’t to say that if you know the right person you are guaranteed your graduate job, but it definitely does no harm to have a wide professional network. If you think about how many graduates are currently applying to every one vacancy, your chances of being that one successful applicant sometimes feel very slim indeed! If there is a manager who has identified there is a need for new graduate level staff in their company and your name gets recommended by a contact, you are most likely to be the first applicant and may well be the only one! Now how high do you feel your chances are?

How to network

So now you’re convinced of the benefits of networking, we’ll help you know where to start! It is all about building relationships with people – who better than someone already in the field to ask for advice from? Start with talking to careers advisors at university as they often have good connections with many graduate employers. They might signpost you to someone in the company who would be happy to chat with you. If there is a particular company you are interested in working for, try and obtain contact information for a manager there and contact them. Explain you’re very interested in a graduate position with them and even if they don’t have one currently available, ask if there are any other openings within the company they know about – they’ll be impressed with your proactive approach.

Remember, networking isn’t only about making new contacts but also about making the most of the ones you already have. Try asking the people you already know if they know of anyone in the industry you’re interested in, or if they have heard of any graduate vacancies in the industry. You’ll be surprised how many contacts you can quickly build up and you never know, one of them might result in that first graduate job!