Going to The Ohio State University has a lot of perks. We
have a great campus, a winning football team, and school spirit that seems to
extend to every part of the world. Literally. Being in DC with the John Glenn
College and all of the other Ohio State alumni that walk the streets is a
surreal experience. For some reason, the Big Ten Schools (especially Buckeyes)
flock to the inside of the Beltway, trying to make a change for their families
back home. As an intern from these schools allows for a huge
advantage. I have had the great fortune of conducting over 20 informational
interviews within the first 4 weeks and I am not done yet! Here are a few tips
that I have learned for when it comes to Networking in the District:
1. Talk to the people at your internship site/workplace
I have the great fortune of working at the Government Accountability Office, an independent, nonpartisan agency that evaluates current and future legislation and federal agencies. Understanding that DC which strives to teach their interns as much as they can during the summer. A part of this involved being set up informational interviews with all of the Directors from the Health Care Team. After the first or second week, I would definitely recommend talking with your supervisor about the opportunities within your office. They may be able to connect you with other supervisors, especially if they have interns, or certain events that are going on in and around the area. For instance, I was added to another list-serve in my office that directed me to the Bipartisan Policy Center. I was able to attend an event at the center on The Stability of the Individual Healthcare Market. There were many high profile individuals from the health care market there including the President and CEO of Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Even if you don’t think you are interested in doing that person’s job, talk to them. You might find later that they are the one you reconnect with when beginning the job hunt journey. Or, perhaps, they may be able to connect you to a partner organization that has your dream job. As a final remark, this goes to show that you should try to stand out at your work place. Your supervisor is going to be more inclined to connect you to others if you show that you have good work ethics. If someone speaks on behalf of you even to just get coffee, you are representing them in this situation.
2. Use the powers of LinkedIn
The social media world has created a beautiful tool for networking in LinkedIn. If you haven’t created one yet, stop. Go to www.linkedin.com and make one right now. This tool is amazing for following what your favorite organizations are up to as well as see who works for them. I recently learned about a great new tool within LinkedIn that is going to make future networking even more amazing. As I said before, having a bunch of Ohio State Alumni around the world is a power tool; buckeyes love to help buckeyes. When you go to LinkedIn, search for The Ohio State University. You will be then whisked away to the university page where you will see a button that says “See Alumni.” Once on this page, you will be able to scope your search for a certain organization or even program that you are interested in and even where they live. For instance, I am interested in applying for a Fulbright program. When I typed that into the search bar, at least six alumni popped up. I could then message them to figure out more about their experiences with Fulbright and what they did on their applications. So once you find the information, how do you connect with them? You definitely can try the LinkedIn messenger, I have had some success with that. However, a lot of people may include their email addresses on their profile. Not there? A lot of email addresses are public records on their respective organization websites. I have been able to find just about everyone’s email address on a website if it was not provided previously. If not there, you could always work to contact that designated organization about opportunities to meet with the alumni or simply go on a tour there.
1. Talk to the people at your internship site/workplace
I have the great fortune of working at the Government Accountability Office, an independent, nonpartisan agency that evaluates current and future legislation and federal agencies. Understanding that DC which strives to teach their interns as much as they can during the summer. A part of this involved being set up informational interviews with all of the Directors from the Health Care Team. After the first or second week, I would definitely recommend talking with your supervisor about the opportunities within your office. They may be able to connect you with other supervisors, especially if they have interns, or certain events that are going on in and around the area. For instance, I was added to another list-serve in my office that directed me to the Bipartisan Policy Center. I was able to attend an event at the center on The Stability of the Individual Healthcare Market. There were many high profile individuals from the health care market there including the President and CEO of Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Even if you don’t think you are interested in doing that person’s job, talk to them. You might find later that they are the one you reconnect with when beginning the job hunt journey. Or, perhaps, they may be able to connect you to a partner organization that has your dream job. As a final remark, this goes to show that you should try to stand out at your work place. Your supervisor is going to be more inclined to connect you to others if you show that you have good work ethics. If someone speaks on behalf of you even to just get coffee, you are representing them in this situation.
2. Use the powers of LinkedIn
The social media world has created a beautiful tool for networking in LinkedIn. If you haven’t created one yet, stop. Go to www.linkedin.com and make one right now. This tool is amazing for following what your favorite organizations are up to as well as see who works for them. I recently learned about a great new tool within LinkedIn that is going to make future networking even more amazing. As I said before, having a bunch of Ohio State Alumni around the world is a power tool; buckeyes love to help buckeyes. When you go to LinkedIn, search for The Ohio State University. You will be then whisked away to the university page where you will see a button that says “See Alumni.” Once on this page, you will be able to scope your search for a certain organization or even program that you are interested in and even where they live. For instance, I am interested in applying for a Fulbright program. When I typed that into the search bar, at least six alumni popped up. I could then message them to figure out more about their experiences with Fulbright and what they did on their applications. So once you find the information, how do you connect with them? You definitely can try the LinkedIn messenger, I have had some success with that. However, a lot of people may include their email addresses on their profile. Not there? A lot of email addresses are public records on their respective organization websites. I have been able to find just about everyone’s email address on a website if it was not provided previously. If not there, you could always work to contact that designated organization about opportunities to meet with the alumni or simply go on a tour there.
3. Ask your connections if they can connect you
By no means should your first question be, “So could you send me information to all of your friends?” You don’t want to be thinking about the end product of continuing your connections before you are done with your initial interview. For one, you want to invest your full attention on the person you have in that moment since they are taking time out of their busy schedules. Although you may be fun to talk to, you are the one reaping the most benefit from the conversation. On top of that, you really want to read the situation. Not every informational interview is going to go swimmingly, just by the sheer fact that everyone has a different personality. If you find that you and this person are really connecting, I am sure that they would be more than happy to pass on your information. I think you can go about this one of two ways: (1) at the end of your interview, thank the person for taking time out of their schedule. You can then follow up by saying, “I heard about a few of the organizations that you addressed, is there any way I could get more information about them?” Often times, they will direct you to someone they may know in that organization if they mentioned it. If you are thinking about talking to someone in ex. Government Relations, you could kindly ask, “Does your organization do a lot with government relations? Do you know how I could get in contact with them?” You want to be direct but not demanding. (2) In your follow up email/thank you letter, make the same sort of request. This may be easier for some people as they are able to go home, reflect on your interview, and find information that would be the most helpful for you. If someone says that they cannot connect you other places, no worries. Keep moving forward and make other connections.
One of my roommate's mentors took us out for crab in Alexandria, Virginia. I would never have had that opportunity if she had not invited us to join. It was great to learn how to eat full grabs and learn about her mentor's professional experience.
4. Reflect on your interview after it is over
Picture this for a moment: a new classmate asks you for coffee to talk about a course you had previously taken at Ohio State. Once you start talking, the other student whips out a notepad and jots down everything that you say (maybe even what your major is!). So not only is that sort of creepy to watch, it’s also kind of rude. Some studies have shown that people feel more reserved about talking when there is a phone or a pad of paper on the table because they may feel that they do not have your full attention. That is probably frustrating to think about but trust me, you can remember things. What I would do is take a different colored pen (for organization purposes but also because it is supposed to enhance your memory) and jot down everything that I remember talking to my interviewee about. I would put information such as projects that they were working on, if they mentioned having a spouse or a pet, what their focus is and how they go to their current position. You will quickly begin to remember things as you jot them down. Further, if there is an organization, for instance, that you only got part of the name just ask for clarification in your follow up email! People appreciate being able to talk about themselves but also being recognized that they were heard. In your follow up email, mention something unique you remember about them. For instance, one of the ladies that I interviewed is going to Vietnam for the first time to learn more about her ancestry. I mentioned in my follow up email best times on her travels and that I would love to hear about it when she is back!
This is one of the notebooks that I use in order to keep track of my interviews! I chose to write in green so that it would be easier to discern from my other notes and (hopefully) easier to remember!
5. Keep track of your connections
So you did all of the hard work to set up the interview, you did your thank you card, and did your reflection. Write that down. It is a good idea to get a business card binder/holder or put all of that information into an Excel file. You have no idea when that connection may become relevant again. I would even recommend setting dates that you need to go back and reconnect with some of those people, especially if they have a job that sounds interesting to you. A lot of companies hiring internally or based on recommendations so you want to be on the forefront of people’s minds.
6. Never say “no” to meeting someone new
There is a perception that an informational interview can only be with someone who is working on something that you are interested in… presently. I think no matter who you are talking to, you should try to learn something new from everyone. That is not to say that you should send out blanket emails to everyone you can think of, certainly be strategic. For example, I have no interest in working for the Department of State. I am sure that it is a wonderful place to work and admire those that do work there but it does not align with my current interests. However, I am in the process of acquiring information for an Ohio State Alumni who does work there because this speaker addressed the importance of having intersectionality with disciplines (his example actually being pharmaceuticals/biochemistry and policy). This gentleman has valuable work experience that I could certainly learn from but, additionally, may have his own connections or friends that could lead me to my future dream job.
I was able to hear from an OSU alumni that works at the State Department about his professional experiences. Although I am not particularly interested in working for the State Department, I still hope to connect with this alum as he mentioned the importance of having interests and backgrounds that connect (such as pharmacy and policy!)
I hope that your apprehension about networking has dissipated a little bit. I think the key is to go boldly but with humility and working to get someone to talk about their experiences. You are always going to learn something new with each person that you meet – never forget that!
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