How to Network with ZERO Working Experience!
About this video
Jeff Su gives five networking tips for students with zero work experience. First, leverage your alumni database: find login details via the career center, search recent graduates in your school — using his alma mater Emory University as the example, as class of 2014 he searched 2007 to 2010 graduates — and email people working in fields that interest you, noting alumni often want to pay back help they received; he suggests identifying candidates on LinkedIn first for efficiency. Second, leverage professors, who are better connected than students think: a professor may know alumni, be LinkedIn connections with them, or connect you with former students if you build a relationship and attend office hours. Third, attend as many events as possible as early as possible to practice in low-risk settings; starting at career fairs as a freshman and talking to companies he was not interested in, such as consumer packaged goods companies Procter & Gamble and Unilever, let him rehearse lines like asking for an email or business card to follow up, and he suggests Meetup if the school offers few events and going with friends for support. Fourth, write an effective cold email: he says he sent 347 cold emails during his junior and senior years, and the goal is to secure a coffee chat or informational interview because face-to-face requests are more effective than email, so keep your introduction minimal, emphasize things you have in common to show you did your homework, and do not include a bunch of questions. Fifth, at the end of every coffee chat ask to be connected with someone else — ‘based on what we discussed today, is there anyone else you think I should talk to?’ — which often leads to a warm introduction, illustrated with his own wording about specializing in supply chain consulting after two projects and asking for contacts in marketing and finance consulting.
Key takeaways
- Start with the alumni database via your career center, search recent graduates in your target field, and find candidates on LinkedIn first to make the search efficient
- Use professors as connectors: they often know alumni personally or on LinkedIn and can introduce you to former students, especially if you attend office hours and build a relationship
- Practice early and often at career fairs and events — even with companies you do not want — to get comfortable asking for an email or business card, using Meetup if school events are scarce
- Cold email to get the meeting, not to interview by email: Jeff sent 347 in his junior and senior years, keeping intros minimal, highlighting common ground, and including no long list of questions
- End every coffee chat by asking, ‘is there anyone else you think I should talk to?’ to expand your network through warm introductions
Episode details: published January 18, 2022 · 6:24 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Jeff Su’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.
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