Students who attended the Durham College Sales Competition were encouraged to network with industry executives and build their own brand.
The competition, held over winter Reading Week, saw students meet with industry professionals and connect to get into their field of interest.
However, networking can be a challenge, especially on Linkedin, which is the largest professional networking platform.
Terry Paddlesden, Business – Marketing program coordinator and competition organizer, advises students to connect with professionals on LinkedIn, as it can open doors to job opportunities.
He also emphasizes “you are your brand” when reaching out to professionals.
“So, the idea is putting yourself out there,” he said. “Remember, you are doing them a favour, so if you reach out to a VP of marketing or a VP of sales, any executive, you’re doing them a favour because now they will be like, ‘Yeah, we are looking for great talent.'”
Emma Carrique, regional recruitment manager at Fastanel, provided a tip to use LinkedIn to get into a field of interest.
She encourages students to use the ‘People’ tool to connect with those in the industry and to build a network by staying connected.
“When you do follow those company pages, you will see a tab where it shows ‘People’, and when you click people it will show who has been working for that company for x amount of years,” she said. “What a great opportunity to start, maybe connecting with some of them in the hopes that they accept you.”
According to the Express Employment Professionals-Harris Poll survey, more than three-quarters of people looking for jobs say networking is important to getting a foot in the door.
The survey also found hiring managers say networking more important now than it was ten years ago.
Liam Moloney, a Marketing – Business Administration student and participant, is not a fan of LinkedIn but understands the purpose of using the website.
“I have a love-hate relationship with LinkedIn. I think LinkedIn is a good opportunity for you to show people what you’re up to,” he said.
Moloney says he has also faced challenges posting on LinkedIn and feels the pressure to post consistently to meet the platform’s engagement requirements.
“The challenge is feeling the need to constantly post and be like a ‘content creator’ of LinkedIn, but personally, I don’t want to do that,” he said. “The challenge with LinkedIn is putting impactful stuff that actually matters.”