UNL PRSSA

UNL PRSSA hosts mentors to discuss the importance of networking

April 18, 2012 Lincoln, Neb.- Several public relations professionals from the Lincoln community participated in our chapter’s meeting on Tuesday, April 17th to provide students with tips for meeting professionals and maintaining contact.  Students were given the chance to both ask questions and role play with the mentors.  The mentors’ tips for best networking practices are:

• Before introducing yourself to a professional, be prepared to say something meaningful.  Know what skills and experiences you can talk about, and be excited about them.
• When introducing yourself to a professional, include your name, affiliation, and why you are at the event.  Hand them a business card if you have one.
• Bring up your skills and interests in conversation by talking about an interest related to their company.  If that professional does not specifically work in your interest area, ask them for a contact within their company. 
• End a conversation with an action step.  Ask for the professional’s card and a good time to contact them.  Have exit strategies for ending a long conversation.  For example, “excuse me, I told Anne Johnson I would speak with her before the luncheon was over.”    
• Decide whether or not to continue contact with a professional based on their responses to you.  If you e-mail them about an internship and they send you a link to the application with a simple “good luck” statement, don’t try to force the connection. 
• If you are at a table and don’t know anyone, break the silence by asking a question or commenting on common ground.  People are more than happy to talk about their experiences.
• After an interview, write the person a note the next day on a simple thank you card.  After meeting a professional, send them an e-mail instead of a written note so that they have easy access to your contact information.
• If you run into an emergency and arrive late to a meeting, don’t enter the room breathless and looking unprepared.  Try to enter discretely, look for a side entrance or wait for a time when speakers are shifting.  It’s appropriate to apologize for being late if you’re not interrupting a conversation, but avoid going into the details of why you were late.

We thank all of our mentors for coming and giving us such practical advice. We appreciate your support of UNL PRSSA and its membership this past year.