This past Wednesday, November 7th, SAA held their Student and Alumni Networking Night. As someone who took part in the event, I can tell you that it was a huge success. We had 25 Alumni participate and take time out of their busy week to come network and share their knowledge with students. Networking may seem a bit scary for some people, so I am here to help ease that intimidation.
The first step in conquering a networking night is to make sure to build up your resume. Participating in campus clubs, activities, or volunteering in your community are great ways to do so. If you’re looking for ideas, SAA is a great place to start and gain some experience. Next, you need to find a nice business casual outfit. However, the key is dress to impress but don’t break the bank while doing it! Many places such as JCPenney, Marshalls, and Walmart are all great college budget-friendly places to get an outfit for networking events. Finally, you want to perfect your elevator pitch. Practice a 60-second pitch about why you are a good candidate for your position of choice. Make sure to display confidence and be aware of which company the person you will be speaking to represents. Asking questions about the person’s experiences at their company is a great way of expressing genuine interest in them as well as the company they work for.
The key to succeeding at any networking event is just to relax and have a good time. Alumni are there because they want to help you. UMass has made an important impact on their lives and they want to give back to UMass students. Learning to network yourself is an important attribute, and is something that you will have to do throughout your professional career, so there’s no harm in starting early. Practice makes perfect and taking advantage of these opportunities is only helping you excel. If you are interested in more of the amazing opportunities SAA provides for the students of UMass, follow us on Social Media. We will keep you up to date on what’s going on in and around SAA! Alumni, are you interested in coming back to campus to share your professional success after UMass? Contact the SAA office and ask about participating in future events! We always love seeing Alumni come back to campus!
Sophia Coughlin ’20