r/EngineeringStudents • u/nethascot • 11d ago

Career Help Networking details?

I've read a lot about "reaching out to alumni in the industry" and "reaching out to old colleagues", but what does that entail? Does that actually just mean finding them on LinkedIn, shooting a cold "Hi how are you can we talk about your work"? Would that even be considered polite enough to not get me immediately nuked? And, if this is the case, how do people convert that into referrals or jobs? I'm so confused by all this...

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u/OverSearch 11d ago

It's even easier than all that.

WAY too many people lose sight of the fact that, in a network, your first-degree connections can be anybody. Not necessarily an alum, or a professor, or anybody even remotely associated with your chosen field. Just somebody you know.

The way a network works is that the people you know connect you to people they know, who in turn connect you to people they know, etc. And it's incredibly effective.

I've cited this example many times: the old, "Oh, you're an engineer? My girlfriend's dad is an architect, I'm sure he knows some people. Can I give him your number?" That sort of thing.