Networking
Approximately 70% of all jobs are found through networking! Most career counseling professionals estimate that at least 50% of the jobs that are filled are never advertised; so how do people find out about these opportunities? Current employees will often tell their networking associate when a position is opening and/or help those associates get interviews. With this statistic in mind you can see how valuable this step in your job search is.
Networking, in reality is nothing other than relationship building. The basics include:
- Build a contact management database of who you know
- Email contacts to prepare the contact for your request for a conversation
- Phone within 72 hours requesting said meeting
- Conduct meeting/informational interview
- Send thank you note
- Stay in touch. Follow up one month later to update the contact on your progress
CareerSearch
This powerful database can help students locate employers by size, location, and industry. Contact names are also provided. This site is particularly helpful for students seeking contacts with organizations in their hometowns.
Go IRISH
Go IRISH is an excellent resource for locating Career Center contacts. Select the “Employers” tab and enter the name of the organization you are targeting into the keyword search. If the organization is in the Go IRISH system, it will come up in the search. Select the tab listing the organizations name. If there is a contact on file, it will be revealed in the lower right hand corner. This search mechanism allows students to locate contacts even if there are no current jobs or internships posted to the system.
Networking with Notre Dame Alumni
Notre Dame’s alumni are some of the most loyal alumni in the world. Connecting with alumni provides students with an excellent network of contacts. Finding alumni that work in a particular industry, at a particular company or in a particular geographic region can all be helpful.
Irish Online Alumni Networking System
Notre Dame seniors and graduate students can have full directory access to Irish Online, the Notre Dame alumni database, by creating their own accounts at https://alumni.nd.edu.
First-year, sophomore, and junior students should contact the Alumni Association (574) 631-6000 to inquire about access to the database.
Alumni Clubs
The clubs connect you with people in the specific geographic region you are seeking. Club websites allow students to seek out upcoming events that provide the opportunity to network with alumni – some sites even allow you to upload your resume and others even have job and internship postings. You can also try to connect with the young alumni representative of the club.