Summertime Networking

Although summer is a great time to rest and relax, it’s also a chance to network with professionals in fields you’re interested in going into. I love meeting new people and getting to learn about their backgrounds and experiences. I am still on schedule to intern this summer at a biomedical engineering company, but budget cuts caused the company to push my internship start date back a month. I didn’t want to just sit around, so instead, I started networking with others at that same company, looking to see if they knew of any other professional opportunities I could get involved with. Even if you have a solid internship, I encourage you all to network with professionals around you to see what other great opportunities for work and learning are out there. To do so, I suggest the following tips:

1. Always have an updated résumé on hand.

It can be tedious sometimes, always editing that résumé: fixing spaces, lining up edges, and making sure you don’t break up an important line going from page one to page two. However, each element is extremely important. As a top private university, the University of Rochester has the Gwen M. Greene Career and Internship Center which helps students write and develop their résumés. I used the center this past semester and the staff was extremely warm and helpful.

2. Create a LinkedIn profile.

I was always confused by what LinkedIn was, but I learned recently that it is safe and easy to use. It is a great way to network with professionals in fields similar to your interests. The University of Rochester also has its own page filled with alumni who are always willing to help you find whatever job or internship fits your interests. Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn!

3. Be a Renaissance conversationalist.

I would strongly suggest staying up to date with current events in a variety of fields. I love what I study, but in order to successfully meet people in the professional world, it is important to read about many different fields. I don’t like reading about business, but this summer, I started trying to read more articles from the business section of online news sites, hoping to broaden my knowledge. I also started reading more about housing markets—just something different to learn about. You never know when it might come up in a conversation with a very important person.

My networking paid off, as in the time before my actual internship started, I worked for the same company under a totally different division: the division of training and leadership, a part of the company that trains newly hired staff members. It was a great experience for me to organize leadership seminars for staff members. And now, I look forward to the rest of summer interning in the critical care division of this medical devices company.