Thursday, October 9 | 4–6 p.m. | Nafziger Room (Vilas 5055)
Chat with SJMC alumni and Board of Visitors (BOV) members from the worlds of journalism, advertising, PR, sports, and more. Attendees will meet BOV members in small groups to connect and discuss career paths and advice.
Who's Attending
See a full list of BOV members attending our meet and greet and learn about their jobs, areas of expertise and more.
Make the Most of Networking Events
Networking events give you a chance to meet with professionals who have volunteered their time to support your career progress. These alumni can help you gain insight into different occupations, industries, and specific employers, and can give you advice on your job search. Make the most of this opportunity to meet people who can help you find internships, land your first job, and understand more about various career paths.
It’s always important to prepare for an event by reviewing these items:
- Reflect on your interests, skills, and experience.
- Try to identify some occupations, industries, and employers you’d like to learn more about.
- Be prepared to talk about yourself –you’ll need to help your mentor help you, and they won’t be able to do that without knowing something about you.
- Research the attendees using LinkedIn, company web sites, etc.
- Set goals to speak to a certain number of new people or people in a particular type of role.
- Prepare some specific questions (see below).
- Don’t worry about bringing a resume – you shouldn’t expect to be offered a job or internship at this event, and there won’t be time for an in-depth resume review.
Here are some tips on how to make the most out of networking at the event:
- Be prepared to initiate conversation, but plan to spend more time listening than talking.
- Remember this is a conversation to share information and advice, not a job interview.
- Ask specific questions, but allow for spontaneous discussion.
- Take notes on important information.
- Talk to someone you had not planned to – this could be someone with a different academic background or someone doing a job you’ve never considered.
- Don’t speak only to other students at the event – you’re here to connect to alumni!
- Before leaving a conversation, don’t forget to:
- Thank the mentor for his or her time and advice.
- Write down any contact information or follow-up items you discussed.
- Get permission to use the mentor’s name when contacting anyone they recommended.
- Enjoy yourself and have fun –networking doesn’t have to be awkward!
Always make sure to follow up after an event using these strategies:
- Thank the mentor within 48 hours, mentioning one or two things that were really helpful.
- Offer them something of value related to your conversation (a link to an interesting article, help with a problem they mentioned, an introduction to someone they might want to meet, etc.)
- Ask them to keep you in mind if they come across any other useful information for your participation!
Sample Questions
You won’t have time to discuss all of these questions, but you can use them as a basis for a short conversation or to help you think of some questions of your own.
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About the person
- What is your educational background? How did you get started in this field?
- What was your career path like? How did you get your present job?
- How did you know where to start looking and what steps you needed to take?
- What would you change about your career path if you could?
- Where do you see yourself going from here?
About their job and workplace
- What are some of the problems and decisions you are likely to face in a day or week?
- What are the greatest rewards and challenges of your job? What is most and least satisfying?
- How much flexibility do you have in terms of dress, work hours, vacation, etc.?
- How do you determine what tasks you will work on and how to structure your time?
- How would you characterize your work relationships or environment (formal, informal, etc.)?
- Do you work primarily alone or in collaboration with others? With whom?
About their career field and industry
- What are the employment trends in your field or company?
- What is the salary range for the various levels in this field?
- What type of professional development or training opportunities are there?
- What do you wish you would have known prior to entering this field?
- What credentials, educational degrees, licenses, etc. are required for entry into this field?
- What kind of skills and prior experiences would be good background for someone starting out?
- What are some skills that have proven important in your job that you did not anticipate?
- What is the profile of someone who is successful starting in this field?
- Where should I look to learn more about this field or this job?
Advice to you
- What skills or experiences will I need to develop to make myself more competitive?
- What professional associations or organizations should I know about?
- What advice do you have for me as I try to break into this field?
- Are there people you think I would benefit from talking to?
- Can I use your name when I contact them?
- If I have any questions could I stay in contact with you?
Continue Making Connections
Networking isn’t over yet! Effective networking relies on continuing to stay in touch. That means you should reach out to your contacts every so often to keep the conversation going.
If you are still looking for help or guidance about how to network like a champ, remember to try the SuccessWorks Career Conversations Canvas module and make an advising appointment!
You can also review a full list of Board of Visitors members and reach out to Jamie Prey, SJMC alumni relations officer, at jmprey@wisc.edu, for other alumni connection opportunities.