Whether you’ve just arrived on campus as a fresh undergraduate or in your final year of university and thinking about your future prospects, networking is a key activity you should be trying your hand at. 

In an era where the job market is fiercely competitive, and more students than ever going to university, it’s now seen as an essential tool to help you stand out against the rest and find your dream first job. 

Its premise is pretty straightforward: networking, for professionals, is all about building relationships and taking action for your future. But it actually goes much further than just that for students.

From helping you find a potential pool of mentors to guide you through your final terms at university and into your career, to giving you fresh thoughts, ideas and content recommendations to aid your essays, coursework and other assignments, there’s so much value to be had from networking as a student. 

Let’s take a deeper look at the benefits of networking for students, and how you can start making the most out of the time you have in higher education. 

What are the benefits of networking for students?

There are so many benefits attributed to networking for students. Aside from helping you launch your career, having a group of acquaintances you can lean on for advice, discussion and interest can add so much value to your university years. 

Improved social skills

There’s no denying it, great communicators go far. And the more you can adapt your social skills for different environments and scenarios, the better relationships you’ll build for your career. You see, good relationships are built on trust. And trust can lead you to getting opportunities that will help better your career. But for that to happen, you have to have exceptional communication skills. 

Now, you may have earned yourself a reputation for being one of the most sociable members of your student body, or even for the university’s sports teams, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s totally appropriate for a professional workplace. Once you begin working, you’ll be expected to communicate well with those in your team and wider company, ensuring smooth company processes and effective teamwork. 

Depending on your role, you could even find yourself working with external clients and customers - where having the right social skills could land you a great opportunity for your organisation - proving your value as an asset to the company. 

Networking is a great way to practice your social skills, improve them where needed, and then practice more. Not only is it a place to speak and respond to others, but observe how other people interact with one another, taking note of any successful encounters.  The more you get yourself involved in professional networking settings and speaking with those who operate in those areas, the better equipped you’ll be for the start of your professional career.

Discover better opportunities

What if I told you that you may have never even heard of your dream job before? Or, that the company you dream of working for actually has a whole array of entry-level positions that are already available to apply for by budding graduates?

That’s right, your perfect job could be sat in the “hidden job market.” That is, where job roles aren’t yet publicly advertised (and may never be if the right connections are found first). In fact, with an estimated 60% of jobs apparently never advertised to the general public, networking may just be the key to unlocking some of the best job opportunities you could ever have. 

Networking can get you in front of the people who know when job positions are being created or about to become available. Build a good relationship with the right people and recruiters, and they may give you insight on future employment opportunities before they’re announced to the general public (that is, if they ever are!)

Even if you don’t find the perfect role in the first instance, you’ll still have a valuable network of hiring staff that know you personally - and they may even reach out to you directly to recruit for a position in the future.

Expand your network

Now, the next networking tip on our list, ‘expand your network’ may seem like an obvious benefit of attending networking events - of course, you want to expand your network within your chosen industry. But, you may not have realised just how much value you can get from meeting and getting to know new people outside of your closest network. 

Firstly, it can be a great opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge and expertise of the current industry movements by sharing your advice with other young budding students. Being in a position to make recommendations for others benefits everyone; you’ll be helping others find solutions to their problems, while also demonstrating that you’re in the know. 

Secondly, it can open a whole range of new doors for you. Conversations with people outside of your network can have great influence on you; your eyes could be opened to a whole range of creative opportunities or career pathways which you may never have thought about - and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. 

In this sense, see networking in the same light as you would your education: an opportunity to expand your mind by meeting new people and learning as much about your field of interest as possible - you never know where it could take you!

Find multiple career mentors

Having a mentor during your career is a great idea. They can encourage and enable your professional or personal growth, helping you set goals and give feedback to help become a more effective team member. 

However, finding just one mentor that meets all your needs can be difficult. On top of this, it’s also hard to find someone who is available each time you need advice.

But by networking, you can meet and build a support system of different mentors that you can lean on for different stages of your career, or for your different needs. For example, you may want someone who coaches you on how to speak in public, building confidence for presentations in the workplace. Meanwhile, you may rely on another type of mentor to help develop your leadership skills for managing teams - as they may be better equipped to coach you in this area. 

It’s important you start this process before graduating from university or college. As great as it is to have someone throughout your career, it is just as valuable to have someone who can coach you from day one, helping with everything from CV and interview preparation, to lending advice on how to navigate your first few weeks in the workplace. Quite simply, the skills and knowledge you’ll gain will be invaluable.

Build on your knowledge of the industry

Networking isn’t just about connecting with and meeting new people. In fact, it can be a great way to exchange ideas and knowledge about your industry, any new developments or business techniques. 

And it’s information like this that will keep you ahead of your competition (and your peers) and really prove yourself as an active community member within your field of interest. 

Not only will this help you shine in job interviews and conversations you have with recruiters, but it could also be used within your academic work submissions to demonstrate your knowledge of the subject in real-world contexts. A big tick in terms of proving your understanding of your subject (which may make it easier for your tutor to award you extra marks!) 

Even if it’s just connecting with industry professionals on your LinkedIn profile to monitor any trends and developments within your field of interest, the more you connect and communicate with others, the more information you will have access to. 

Fresh ideas for your assignments

On the line of building knowledge of your subject and its relevance in industry, networking can also be a great way to refresh what you already know and gain a new perspective. 

This can be particularly helpful if you have essays or other summative assignments coming up, where you may be looking for new thoughts, ideas, and discussions to spark a creative idea or discussion.

Just don’t forget to share your ideas in return and give back to your connections. In doing so you’ll be valued as an active member of your network who gives back, and, if you have lots of new ideas - could even earn yourself a reputation as one of the thought leaders within the group!

In this way, exchanging ideas and any knowledge you have with others can be a great benefit of networking. You’ll be giving valuable ideas to others, while gaining a fresh perspective on things you may not have previously thought or know about. 

Make new friends

Now, although networking is all about helping you gain a competitive edge against your peers, it’s actually a great way to meet new people and make new friendships. 

The thing is, not everyone you meet while networking is going to be a ‘valuable’ connection. That is, someone that actively assists in helping you land a great opportunity, train you, or give you cutting-edge insights. 

You’ll probably meet or (virtually) connect with a lot of people whilst networking. And the chances of you working with them all on some professional level is highly unlikely. But instead, you might just get along with one another really well - and potentially, end up as friends. 

As a student, networking can take many forms: joining societies, going to open days, connecting with university alumni online, striking up a conversation with someone in class who you know shares similar interests and ambitions as you. And from these rather ‘simple’ conversations, can blossom great conversation and even friendship. 

There’s nothing wrong with making friends this way. In fact, putting yourself in environments where you know people of similar interests will be is actually a recipe for the perfect friendship. 

The friendships you can make may even still have some form of  ‘networking’ value for you. For example, if you and a fellow classmate share a particular interest in a certain topic area, they may introduce you to some research or ideas that you hadn’t ever heard of before - which might just help you shine in front of a future interviewer!

It may not be networking in the ‘traditional’ sense, but it’s still connecting with others who can share some small insights about your field of interest to help better yourself and/or knowledge of the subject.

How to Start Networking as a Student

Now you’ve come to realise the importance of networking whilst at university or college, you’re probably eagerly thinking, “how do I go about getting started?”

I’m not going to lie, the term ‘networking’ is a bit of a buzzword. Typically, we associate it with attending large scale networking events, standing in rooms full of strangers trying to pitch ourselves and make small talk. But what you probably don’t realise is that networking is much more than that.

Of course, networking events are absolutely a great way to meet and connect with others who share the similar motivations as you. And if you have the opportunity to attend some, you should go for it.

However, if you’re new to networking and feeling apprehensive about diving straight into a formal event, you can start embedding networking into your everyday life to ease you in and build your confidence. 

The truth is, networking is all around us: it’s taking time to stop and introduce yourself to others on the commute to class; it’s joining societies and making new friends with those who enjoy the same hobbies as you; it’s by engaging with others on your social media channels, talking on threads about the subject areas which interest you the most. There really are limitless opportunities to get started with putting your networking skills into practice. 

For more information about how to start networking as a student, you can read our full guide here. 

Summary

When we’re young, it’s often hard to picture life beyond university. We’re so focused on trying to reach our academic goals and achieve the qualifications we think we need to land our dream career that we often never look further afield. 

It’s far too easy as a student to be blinkered by the academic success we need and never consider the fierce competition that exists in much of the job market: we never stop to think “other than my academic skills, what else do I need to get employed?”

You want to do whatever it takes to land your dream first job, making use of the degree you worked so hard for. And networking can be one of the most important parts in helping you reach this goal. 

As a student, the sooner you start networking, the better. The more time you have to build connections, the more likely you are to stand-out and put yourself in front of those who can have the most impact on your future success. Build your bridge from academic to professional success - and start networking today.

Start networking with Melio!

Looking to up your networking game? Meet and connect with students just like you from around the world with one of our Academic Online Courses. 

Spending 2-weeks learning about a subject you’re passionate about with other academically-motivated students, you’ll connect via live webinars and written forum boards - all run through our secure learning management system. You’ll have the opportunity to collaborate with others, share ideas, and make connections for the future.

By the end of your  online course, you can expect to improve your overall understanding of the subject, gain new perspectives as shared by others, and meet new people who share the same passions and interests as you. 

Want to learn more? Discover our Academic Online Courses here, or contact our admissions team for further information.