The Simple Networking Plan Every College Student Should Follow
Most College Students Wait Too Long to Network. Don’t Make This Mistake.
Welcome to issue #195 of The Introverted Networker. Every Tuesday, I teach you to be a better networker. My favorite part of the week is hearing from my readers, so leave a comment or ask a question, if you are so inclined.
I have a lot of college students in my life right now.
My son is a senior at the University of Missouri.
He graduates in December.
Last weekend, I talked to the parent of one of his high school friends.
She has a daughter who’s graduating from Colorado State in May and is struggling to figure out LinkedIn and how to start networking.
The mom asked if I’d meet with her daughter to share what I know.
I said “yes” without hesitating.
Then there’s my daughter.
She’s a freshman at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, just finishing her first year.
She opened a LinkedIn profile a few weeks ago and asked me to help her build it out.
She wants to start networking for internships and eventually so she can get a job.
Same week.
Different kids.
Different stages of college.
All asking the same version of the same question:
How do I start networking in college?
Here’s what I tell them…
This issue takes about 5 minutes to read.
The question has a different answer depending on when you ask it.
My son’s friend has a few weeks.
My daughter has a few years.
The gap between those two situations is enormous.
Not in what they need to do, but in how much time they have to do it.
Here’s the mantra I keep repeating to all who will listen:
Networking isn’t something you do when you need a job.
It’s something you do way before you need a job.
It’s career insurance.
And like any insurance, it only works when you buy it before something goes wrong.
The students who figure that out in their freshman years graduate with something most of their peers don’t have:
A real professional network that’s already warm when they need it.
Why LinkedIn First
I’ve given LinkedIn and networking presentations at a few universities now.
Graduate students, undergrads, career center workshops.
And the pattern is always the same.
Students either have no LinkedIn profile, or they have one that looks like it was set up in ten minutes and never touched again.
That profile is doing real work, or real damage, whether they’re paying attention to it or not.
Every recruiter, every alumni contact, every professor who might refer them to someone is going to look at their profile.
Here’s what a student’s LinkedIn profile needs before anything else:
A professional photo.
Not a crop from a formal.
Not a graduation shot with someone else cut out.
A clean photo, good lighting, where you’re looking at the camera.
That’s it. It doesn’t have to be expensive. It has to exist.
A headline that says where you’re going, not where you are.
“Junior at the University of Missouri studying Marketing” tells me nothing useful.
“Marketing student | Interested in brand strategy and consumer behavior | Open to internships” tells me exactly who you are and what you want.
LinkedIn search is keyword-driven.
Your headline is the most-searched line on your profile.
Write it for the person trying to find you, not for the person who already knows you.
An About section that sounds like a person.
Three to five sentences.
Who you are, what you’re studying, what you want to do with it, and what kind of conversations you’re open to.
Don’t open with “I am a junior.”
Open with something that earns the read.
“I’m going to help under-represented groups find their voices in state and federal governments.”
That’s the hook that makes people stop and read the rest.
Then, explain in clear language:
What you have already learned,
What you are planning to learn,
how you’ll use it to help other people, and
what types of opportunities you are interested in.
Those three things, done well, change how the profile works.
Because now, when you start connecting with people on LinkedIn, or in real life, they’ll see who you are and what you’re about on your profile.
If you want the guide I give to college students on writing your headline and about section, tell me in the comments.
Start Connecting
Here’s where students usually get stuck.
The profile feels manageable.
The outreach feels scary.
Let me make this concrete.
Start with two groups:
First: alumni from your school.
Go to LinkedIn
Click on your college or university’s name (you probably added it to your profile)
On the school’s page, you’ll see a tab called Alumni.
Click it.
You’ll find people who graduated from the same place you’re going to graduate from.
You can add search terms by title, keyword, or location.
Narrow down the results to people who are probably pursuing the career path you want to follow.
That’s a built-in reason to reach out.
You don’t need a clever opener.
You just need to mention the shared connection.
“Hi [Name], I’m a junior at [University] studying [Field]. I came across your profile and was impressed by your path into [Industry]. I’d love to hear more about how you got there if you’d be open to a short conversation.”
That’s it.
No ask for a job.
No favor.
Just curiosity.
Second: other students in your major or program.
Connect with your classmates now.
Before you graduate.
Before you lose touch.
The person sitting next to you in your marketing capstone is going to work somewhere interesting in three years.
Your network isn’t just people ahead of you.
It’s also the people moving alongside you.
AND
Also, look for opportunities to connect with upperclassmen.
This is especially important when you’re a freshman or sophomore.
Develop relationships with the students who are in the job search process right now.
In a couple of year, they’ll be the ones coming back to campus representing their employers at the career fair.
Be the person who is already connected to them.
This is The Connection Loop in its simplest form.
Start with who you already know or have a natural reason to know.
Build the relationship before you need something from it.
Your Assignment This Week
Open your LinkedIn profile and do three things:
Add or update your photo. Make it professional. Make it recent.
Rewrite your headline. Lead with where you’re going, not where you are. Include the field you’re interested in and the word “internship” or “open to opportunities” if you’re actively looking.
Send one connection request to an alum from your school who works in a field you’re curious about. Write a two-sentence note explaining why you’re reaching out. Don’t pitch. Just connect.
That’s it. One profile update. One message.
You don’t build a network all at once.
You build it one connection at a time, starting now.
If you want more information about how I teach college students to network, including AI prompts and message templates for outreach, leave me a comment:
If you know a college student or a parent of a college student who could use this info, forward it to them.
Best Things I Found Online This Week:
Lazlo Bock shared an awesome LinkedIn carousel on Networking Without A Network.
Connor Donnelly helps you answer that awkward question: “Tell me about yourself.”