Welcome Back! Welcome Back! Welcome Back!

The Tufts Career Center is excited to welcome two students to the Career Services Ambassadors team. In addition to writing articles for this blog, our Ambassadors will also be helping to create content for and manage our social media outlets. Read their posts here, and stay up to date on the latest Career Center happenings by following @TuftsCareer and liking us on Facebook! And now, a welcome back post from one of our new Ambassadors, Nirvanna Lildharrie.

Hello, Tufts! My name is Nirvanna Lildharrie. I'm a senior from Long Island, NY, studying Sociology and Mass Communications and Mass Media Studies.

Aristotle said, "You are what you repeatedly do. (Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit)," so to properly introduce myself, here's a little more about what I do:

I'm the Business Manager of Shir Appeal, Tufts' ONLY Co-ed Jewish A Cappella Group (believe it or not), for which I sing mostly alto parts and arrange some groovy tunes.  I work at Tufts Telefund (We're hiring!) and fund-raise for Tufts so all of you can continue to enjoy our university's high caliber of resources, financial aid, and global reach. I am the big sister of three and a babysitter of three awesome kids in the community as well. I have a ton of experience in social media, journalism, and marketing; and on my days off, I like to spend time with people I love and CREATE STUFF--I love re-purposing things, DIY, painting, and making music...

This school year, I'll also be one of your Tufts Career Services Ambassadors!

In my few days of working here at the Career Center, I've discovered a gold mine of information, resources, assistance, and furtherance buried in the back of Dowling. I, myself, had no idea that Tufts provided free career counseling, resume critiques, and had a plethora of events all year round to refine my professionalism and provide a networking platform for professionals I usually wouldn't (and potentially couldn't) interact with otherwise.

I'm a lot like you.

Before working here, I had stumbled upon the Career Center website from time to time--not really having the patience to navigate the clusters of information. I would sometimes skim over the events on TuftsLife, but never looked into them because I wasn't entirely sure if they were applicable to me or if I was ready to start thinking about my career. To be completely honest, "Career Services" was something I had heard about, but never really knew about.

But now--suddenly--I have begun my senior year. I'm suddenly hyper-aware of my limited time at Tufts, the impermanence of the college experience, and my adult life on the horizon. Suddenly, I wish I took advantage of the Career Center earlier on... And even more, I wish those opportunities were explained to me better. And that's where I come in.

My comrade, Morgan Kee, and I will be steadily working to make sure you're in the know about all of Career Center's invaluable events, info sessions, on-campus recruiting, and more. Our plan is to use social media to expose our endless resources to the Tufts public, making the Career Center a ubiquitous resource on campus, thereby increasing gross student confidence about life after graduation.

Where do we start???

Well, I've started by setting up an appointment with the Career Center to talk about post-grad plans and review my resume. I figured, "Hey, if I'm going to be working here, I might as well see for myself what this place really does!" It's my version of investigative work. Anticipate another post on my own career counseling experience very soon to give you the real, inside scoop on what to expect!

And you can start by subscribing to this blog, liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and even setting up your own appointment today!

The Tufts Career Center is here for you. And with our new efforts in social media and marketing, there will soon be no doubt about it.

Best regards, Jumbos!
Until next time,
Nirv

Check back tomorrow to learn more about our other fantastic Ambassador, Morgan Kee!

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Why Networking is Not Just Asking for Stuff

By Angela Sun

Networking. Of all the ambiguities of internship and job hunting, networking probably takes the cake.

The Career Center's guide to networking is a wonderful overview of the ABCs of networking, and a great place to start for delving into the practice.
But after studying the basics, you may still have some questions, or be wondering why you don't seem to be as successful as you had hoped to be. This post will help you reflect on the purpose of your personal journey in developing a professional network, which should provide some guidance about how to network.

Before writing this post, I asked around to see what questions students had about networking. The key feedback I received was uncertainty about how to ask for things without seeming like you're asking for things.

So very first, the secret to growing a sustainable and substantial network is that it's not just about asking for things! Getting a reference, feedback on your resume, or even low-and-behold--a job offer immediately, is not always the best, or even right thing to have in mind when networking. 

Am I Networking for the Right Reasons?

Despite having found the contact through an electronic database, and potentially exchanged all conversation via email, at the end of the day, there sits two persons behind the computer monitors. Engaging with contacts in a professional network is in many ways similar to connecting with friends and family. One size does not fit all.  Personality, preference, and schedules will dictate how they prefer to communicate.  So consider taking the conversation off-line.

There is still an element of 'unnaturalness' to cold-emailing a stranger, or making a relationship out of a career fair speed date, but acknowledge the human aspect of networking by considering where the other person is coming from.

What does your contact do? How much time does he/ she have to communicate with me? Why would he/ she want to help me? What can I offer him/ her?

Thinking through these questions will help you manage expectations, which should be a range--rather than one item. It is for the most part impossible to know where a conversation with a contact might lead you. Here are just some of the items you could get out of networking:
- Informational interview (range in length and format)
    - Insight into their job
    - Advice for your next steps
- Recommendation/ someone willing to "vouch" for you
- Referral to someone else in the target company
- Internship/ job (information about a job, an offer for an interview).

Think realistically about your contact's position and which items would be appropriate to anticipate. A Human Resources Recruiter is in a position to offer you an interview, whereas a consulting firm employee might not be. Targeting the appropriate expectations will help you avoid asking for too much and putting the contact in an uncomfortable position.

On that note, it is usually not appropriate to ask a contact to look over your resume. They could offer to do this, but refrain from asking. Set-up an appointment with the Career Center for a resume critique, so that you're bringing an already polished resume to the table.

Also recognize that there is no hard-and-fast rule for the timing of networking. Just because you are interested in accounting, doesn't mean if you meet a news producer at an event, you shouldn't follow-up with a thank you note and add them on Linkedin. One of the most common remarks I heard from panelists at the Harvard Women in Business Conference was that your interests will probably change. You never know who could be relevant when.

The human component also means people are busy. Sometimes it's hardest to get a response from senior executives or higher ups in a given company. A contact might offer to help you with something, and then fall through on doing so. You might never hear back from someone--for no real reason. It is important to be mentally prepared and maximize your chances by reaching out to many people, but also establishing a compelling and specific argument for why they should respond to you.

One effective networking technique is to start with your immediate circle. Linkedin is a great resource for this because it tells you if you have a 2nd connection with someone. That way you can ask your 1st degree friend/ contact to refer you to your target contact. Give the same dedication to Linkedin as you do to Facebook, as the more 'connections' you have, the better your chances are at knowing if you have a mutual contact. The Tufts Career Advisory Network also provides you with a good starting point as it is full of alumni wanting to help out fellow jumbos. 

Networking is an exercise in strategically managing relationships. You may find your professional 'lunch buddies', 'study buddies', 'mentors' and so on. Being flexible and intentional will help you network for the long term. Your career begins rather than ends with your first job offer. Taking the time to get to see through the lens of the person you are networking with, and making the effort to stay in touch with holiday greetings, emails, or sending articles along from time to time will go a long way.


Am I Networking in the Right Ways?

So you can already see some of the ways in which a changing perspective on networking affects how to network.

A great tip I learned is to start of with a compliment, what's more revealing about the human component of networking than that? You can't compliment an online job portal and hope it'll bump your resume to the front!

As college students, we might not have the same things to offer a contact. But every relationship goes two ways, and recognize what you do have to offer. Sometimes, it could be as simple as a show of appreciation for someone's dedication to their industry. This could be the best boost for them at the end of a 10 hour cubicle shift!

But we're also bright, educated, hardworking students who happen to be masters of communication. So sell yourself a little in your early correspondence. Explain what your skills are and what experiences you already have relating to the industry/ position. This will help a contact understand why you are reaching out to them. What else? You might be in a position to offer publicity about their initiative, especially if they are trying to reach out to a college audience--offer to spread the word.

And effective communication means being specific about what you are seeking. One pitfall is sending an email that says, "I would like more information about xyz position/ company." Your contacts likely don't have the time to send you 'information', but they might have time to answer your questions about specific requirements, recruiting time lines, or a typical job description. The Linkedin page of the contact is usually a great source for inspiration for questions.

Different communication portals also have their strengths and weaknesses. Face-to-face meetings are always best because they allow you to make an impression on someone, and to adapt to their nonverbal cues. However, this might be unrealistic for contacts who are extremely busy, and might prefer phone or email. Phone offers the opportunity to change questions depending on the answers, while it is difficult to have the same fluid, two-way conversation via email. It is also usually more work for the person answering the email to type out all the answers. However, a contact may still prefer email because it allows him/ her to answer on their own time. So take all these things into consideration when you set-up an informational interview.

Some ambiguities of networking will still be ambiguous. This may sound daunting, but feel empowered that you already have plenty of experience under your belt. Everyday, we manage a complex web of relationships, reading people, adapting our communication styles to their personalities...without even thinking about it! With a little practice and critical evaluation, many of these skills can easily be applied to networking.

With practice, networking will become clearer and even comfortable.  I strongly recommend working alongside a career center counselor through the process.The counselors are incredibly knowledgeable and patient, and great people to connect with professionally...sound familiar?

Please interact with us on Facebook/ Twitter @Tuftscareer. We would love to hear your blog post suggestions!

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