How to Network in College in 2023

A Guide to Establishing and Building Professional Relationships for College Students

College is a perfect opportunity to step your foot into the world of business. This process is one of the best things you can do for yourself while still in school. Although it’s ideal to start sooner rather than later, it is perfectly fine to only begin networking during the last year of your schooling.

No matter when you decide you want to get involved in the world of networking, there are countless ways that you can work towards this big moment before you start your professional life.

From the moment you step onto your college campus, there is a world of opportunity in front of you. You are now in a place where there are opportunities seeping into your life left and right, you just have to know what to do in order to embrace these opportunities. You may not notice at the time, but just being on campus in an environment filled with people who have the connections that you need in order to network, makes all the difference to you.

From the friends you make to the teachers you meet and the people in your career development center on campus, you have all the resources you need to get started. There’s no way of knowing who has connections that can heavily impact your future career, so being involved and forming friendships and professional relationships with the people at your university will guide you on the right path to success.

Here are a few steps to consider when you begin to network while at school:

1. Begin as early as you feel ready

2. Set goals that you want to achieve while in school

3. Go to the career development office

4. Get involved on campus

5. Get experience outside of campus

Knowing When to Start

Just because you can start networking early, doesn’t always mean that you feel like you’re ready. It’s important to remember that people can tell you one thing, that you need to start as early as possible or you’re going to be behind. But that’s not the case. As long as you begin networking in the first place, then you’re on the right track.

Some people come to college already in the mindset that they can tackle networking and it’ll come easy to them just because they know what they want to do and they’re confident enough to begin. But if that’s not how you’re feeling, then that’s totally okay.

Although it is ideal to start networking ASAP, you can take a semester or few until you feel like you’ve grasped the transition into college and you can mentally handle networking. There will be people telling you to start immediately, and although they aren’t wrong, it’s okay to not feel ready to network as soon as you enter college. Some people need a short adjustment period before they are ready to start thinking even more seriously about their future.

It’s never too late to start thinking seriously about your future.

But if you find yourself entering college and feeling confident that you want to begin networking, then consider doing it as soon as you’re ready. You don’t necessarily need to know what you want to major in or do with your life, all you need is to know what you want to achieve. A few simple goals are all you need in order to boost you in the process of networking.

Set Realistic Goals for Yourself

Once you’ve recognized that you’re ready to start networking, one of the easiest things to do that can really open your mind to what you want out of the whole networking process is identifying your networking goals. Whether you want to write them down or simply keep a general track of them in your head, knowing what you want to achieve by networking is crucial for the process.

These can be simple goals such as:

1. Meet with people at the career development office at your school

2. Research a few companies that interest you

3. Look up projects and experiences available in your area of interest

4. Go to a career fair at your college

Talking with people about your goals and interests will make the networking process easier.

Having a general idea of what goals you have before you reach out to a company is a great and easy way to start the networking process. You have to know what you want for your future before you throw yourself into the world of networking. If you start networking without having any goals, it may be harder to differentiate what you want and why you’re doing this in the first place.

Use the Resources Available on Campus

Once you have all of your goals set, then you should visit your college's career center. Here you will meet people who can help guide you in the right direction based on your career goals. And if you don’t necessarily know what you want to do with your life or you’re undecided on your major, the people at the career development center can help you with this too.

No matter what is troubling you, reaching out to the career development center to talk to experts can aid you in determining the companies you reach out to and the resources you can explore. These experts have connections with a large number of projects and experiences that companies offer. Some companies will even reach out to career development centers regarding new internship positions and information about upcoming projects that students can get involved with.

Going to group information meetings at the career center can ease you into the professional world.

There are an endless amount of opportunities that can be presented to you if you book just one appointment with your college’s career development office. Most offices will hold one-on-one meetings as well as group meetings to go over how to do just about anything that you might have questions about. This includes, but is not limited to resumes, cover letters, applications, and career searching.

Utilizing this resource will put you ahead of other students, as you will work with people who either have experience with the companies they are in contact with or know firsthand what companies are looking for in work ethic and experience.

Connect With Employers on Campus

Depending on what major you’re studying, there may be job opportunities on campus that you can take advantage of early on. Being on the lookout for job opportunities that correlate with one of your classes or your major in general is crucial to getting your foot in the door in the professional world.

There are many benefits of getting involved in college that will open up a world of opportunities for you. Sometimes networking can start with something as simple as making friends. If you know people in your major who have similar career paths as you, they might already have jobs on campus as well through the department or a class.

Some schools have to take classes called Capstones where they have to network with companies in order to pass the class. Usually, this is in the form of an internship, but some schools have jobs on campus that students can apply for to earn credit. Not only is this a great way to earn credits for classes in your area of study, but this opens up the door to a peer network.

Even if you don’t have to take a Capstone course, having friends and establishing a relationship with your professors can be the key to networking. If you know people, it’s easier to network as connections are some of the valuable things you can take away from college.

Creating a network through your peers and professors is a simple way to pave your way to success.

It also doesn't hurt to have an internship or job on campus under your belt that you can put down on a resume. This, on top of providing you with more experience than other people when applying for future jobs, can work wonders for networking during and after college.

Getting an Internship

The best and most common way to build a network is by getting an internship. Once you’ve established what you want out of networking, it’s time to move on to the final step which is securing an internship.

If you’ve utilized all the resources that the career development center has given you, you should be ready to take all the information you’ve learned through various projects and on-campus jobs. Everything you’ve done leading up to the moment that you apply for internships has prepared you for this exact moment. All of the networking that you’ve done prior to this moment, establishing relationships with peers and professors on campus, prepared you for an internship.

An internship is one of the best ways to build a network.

Internships are a great opportunity to network with different people and companies, allowing you to explore your talent and intellect through experience. On top of gaining experience for the real world through an internship, this opportunity allows you to build professional relationships.

Your previous relationships you made with professors and peers have expanded into the workplace where the relationships you form with employers are now the most important lasting impact you can make. Forming professional relationships can secure you a job in the future. Internships and the relationships you form during them are the best networking that you can do for yourself while you’re still in college—so getting an internship can have long-lasting benefits that can greatly impact your future.

Knowing When and How to Network is the Key to Success

College is full of opportunities that are easily obtainable if you have connections. The long-lasting relationships you make through your friends and professors can be the key to your successful future. These relationships act as building blocks to securing yourself a successful network. Through this network, a world of opportunities opens up for you, acting as the most important step in building a stable and successful career after you graduate.