Networking has always been one of those things I know I should do, but don’t always know how to, so this week’s lecture from Scott Greenhaugh was actually very useful.  He defined networking as “finding people doing what you want to do, where you want to do it, that you have an affinity with”; this makes a lot of sense when you think about it. For networking within your major or your future career field, it’s very helpful to get to know people and make those connections so that you have more resources and opportunities.  Brother Greenhaugh actually told us that 60-80% of jobs were obtained through networking!  I was pretty surprised by this, but it started making more sense as he went on with the discussion.

       So how can networking help me as a leader?  One of the best things a leader can do for their organization is to network because that is how they can find more opportunities and receive good recommendations.  Networking is all about building relationships.  That’s why Greenhaugh emphasized that you need to have an affinity with the person; you need to create that bond instead of just having a surface relationship.  As leaders, we often have effective people skills, so we need to take advantage of these!

       At the networking lab, I had an awesome opportunity to eat lunch with a Shauna Valentine, professional in a field that was closely related to my major: public relations.  I’m a communications major wanting to possibly do advertising, but I have also thought about PR, so it was very insightful to talk to her.  She told stories about her career, her family, and church callings, and it was interesting to see the type of lifestyle she had lead with this particular career.  That is another one of the biggest perks to networking—you can become familiar with a certain career field through other people.  I not only really enjoyed getting to know her, but we exchanged contact information so I know if I need help in the future with something communications-related, she is a possible resource.  She even mentioned that there are a lot of communications department interns in the PR office where she works on campus, which could be valuable to know in the future.  Overall, the concept of networking just makes a lot of sense, even though not many people realize its importance or know how to do it.  It’s all about just finding people you like who are doing it what you want to do where you want to do it, and creating a relationship with them that can be mutually beneficial in the future.