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/workplaceI 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 LinkedInThe 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.
Here is just a
quick view of my LinkedIn profile. Your profile picture is very important since that is the first thing that anyone sees. I would definitely recommend talking to someone at Ohio State (especially if you are in the John Glenn College) about getting your professional head shot.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 overPicture 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!
