{"id":6804,"date":"2022-07-08T12:17:26","date_gmt":"2022-07-08T11:17:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/?p=6804"},"modified":"2022-07-18T14:02:44","modified_gmt":"2022-07-18T13:02:44","slug":"career-contacts-and-conversations-how-to-reach-out-to-people-and-start-networking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/?p=6804","title":{"rendered":"Career contacts and conversations: how to reach out to people and start networking"},"content":{"rendered":"

Getting inside knowledge by talking to people working in the sector you\u2019re aiming for and connecting with employers \u2013 we call it \u2018networking\u2019 for short. It\u2019s something everyone is apprehensive about, but most people can find a way that works for them once they give it a go. It can help you achieve your goals in ways you didn\u2019t expect.<\/p>\n

Having conversations with employers is something many OU students tell us they want to get better at. Our networking for your career<\/a> page will tell you how. OU Careers and Employability Consultants Polly and Fiona give their tips for breaking through that barrier and taking your first steps in networking: <\/p>\n

1. Find out what networking can do for you<\/h3>\n

Our Networking podcasts<\/a> with OU Careers Consultants Chandni, Penny and Jackie help you discover what networking is (and isn\u2019t), why it\u2019s helpful, and how to get ready to go for it. <\/p>\n

2. Take your first step<\/h3>\n

Join one of our regular Networking Woes to Networking Pro live workshops, a safe space to share practical approaches with other OU students, to help you start and develop your network. See our full calendar of careers events<\/a> on OpportunityHub.<\/p>\n

3. Start with who you know<\/h3>\n

Do this practical activity<\/a> to help you visualise and map your current network of family, friends and colleagues, and get advice on reaching out to new contacts with the help of social media, events and direct contact. <\/p>\n

4. Use LinkedIn to your advantage<\/h3>\n

Much networking has moved online, so LinkedIn has become more important than ever. Get set up and start using it with our recorded webinar LinkedIn: Basic Features<\/a>. If you\u2019re already confident on LinkedIn, take it up a level, boost your profile and gather career intelligence with our recorded webinar Linkedin: Advanced Features<\/a>. <\/p>\n

5. Get insider knowledge<\/h3>\n

Find out more about the career you\u2019re interested in by asking a sector professional for an \u2018informational interview\u2019. Most people are happy and willing to spend a little time to answer questions about their work and it\u2019s your chance to ask about what it\u2019s really like to work in a specific job or sector. Read more about how to go about it in What is an informational interview?<\/a> and Questions to ask at an informational interview<\/a>. Don\u2019t be put off if your first contact doesn\u2019t reply \u2013 life might just be too busy at that moment. The next person could be available to give you just the information you need.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI would suggest talking to someone who already works in your desired field and attending industry events \u2013 you might get a different idea from that than from just studying job boards and adverts.\u201d
\nMarta, OU Computing & IT student\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

6. Learn how to build your confidence<\/h3>\n

You might feel that the people you want to network with won\u2019t want to network with you \u2013 this feeling is common and can unfortunately stop people from reaching out. Remember, everyone is human \u2013 employers and professionals too. Confidence is a journey we are all on, so learn how to build it with webinars How to grow your confidence<\/a> and Confidence and planning your future<\/a>. <\/p>\n

7. Listen to how others have done it<\/h3>\n

Hashi Mohamed, author of \u2018People Like Us\u2019, came to the UK as an unaccompanied child refugee and is now a barrister. Listen to Hashi\u2019s podcast<\/a> on what it takes to overcome challenges and keep up your self-belief, including how to network effectively and grow your confidence. Zeeshan Nazar, Graduate Trainee with BT, has useful advice for any student applying for graduate schemes<\/a>, but especially for students from ethnic minorities looking for programmes and organisations with inclusive and supportive values and a diverse culture. <\/p>\n

\n\"Fiona\"Polly Fiona Munday and Polly Cadman are OU Careers and Employability Consultants. They help students navigate their futures, explore the pathways to different careers, work out their life goals and build the confidence and skills to achieve them \u2013 through one-to-one careers consultations and by designing career learning events and self-service resources for the OU. Explore the rest of the Careers Stories page for more articles from the Careers and Employability Services team.\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Getting inside knowledge by talking to people working in the sector you\u2019re aiming for and connecting with employers \u2013 we call it \u2018networking\u2019 for short. It\u2019s something everyone is apprehensive about, but most people can find a way that works for them once they give it a go. It can help you achieve your goals […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":6830,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[92,33,65],"tags":[86,73,45],"class_list":["post-6804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-explore","category-fairs-and-events","category-networking","tag-career-planning","tag-careers","tag-networking"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/45"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6804"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6804\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6828,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6804\/revisions\/6828"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}