What My College Students Wish They Knew About Networking …BEFORE Senior Year

Don’t take my word for it! Here is what my college student clients wish they knew before they started working with me!

“I wish I had joined more clubs and been involved in more campusactivities — not just because these would have looked good on my resume, but they would have been a great way to meet people, learn and have fun.”

“I wish I had explored and joined a professional club related to my major or career. I always hear these groups have awesome speakers and activities. I also hear students who participate develop great career connections.”

“I wish I had set up informational interviews with professionals as early as my freshman year. I’m setting them up now (as a senior), but had I started sooner I would have more than 50 professional connections by now. I also would have learned a lot about various careers, industries and roles.”

“I wish I had networked starting freshmen year. I’m a senior now and I feel like I need to accept any relevant job offer. If I had been networking during the past 3-4 years, then maybe I would have discovered several job openings and received more than one offer to consider.”

“I wish I had made professional connections years ago and learned about different careers. Then maybe I would not still be saying, “I don’t know what I want to do.” Plus, I would have a real and relevant professional network!”

“I wish I had shown my resume to multiple people at my career center AND to a few relevant professionals. I’ve been applying for jobs senior year and only now learned that my resume is not well written. The changes I recently made with Ms. Kaye showcase my skills, experience and abilities.”

“I wish I had visited my career center more often and taken advantage of the services they provide. I’m now a 2nd semester junior and I just learned my career center would have paired me with one alumni mentor EACH semester. This would have given me EIGHT professional contacts to talk to and learn from.”

“I wish I had created or maintained my LinkedIn profile and actively posted interesting articles and ideas. I mistakenly thought prospective employers would not look at my profile, and I also did not know people my age who are active on LinkedIn stand out among their peers because most young adults rarely post on Linkedin.”

“I wish I had put forth the effort to make friends with upper classmen in my sorority/fraternity/classes. Had I invested in these relationships, I would now have an entire network of alumni already working at companies that interest me.”

“I wish I would have tried to get a professional summer internship as early as freshman year. Professional experience on a resume looks much better than life guarding or being a waiter. Also, a more professional internship would have helped me learn office skills.”

“I wish I had spent as much time connecting with professionals as I did partying, studying or watching Tik-Tok videos. Now I know it’s all about networking.”

“I wish someone (anyone) had guided me as to how to pick a major that would lead to a career. Sociology sounded interesting but I really want to find a job in marketing and it’s been difficult to convince employers that my major is relevant.”

“I wish older adults had helped me understand the connection between my major and my future career options. I had no idea it would be difficult to turn my major into a job that I would enjoy.”

“I wish I had listened to my parents and other adults regarding selecting a major AND networking. I allowed my ego to get in the way. Of course adults know more than I do but I just didn’t want to listen or admit they were right.”

“I wish I had signed up for the career center workshops/webinars. I’m doing some of them now and the information is great. I’m guessing that’s why they put this info out there. LOL”