The "art of networking" has some very big fans at Penn- - namely Barbara Hewitt and her team of career counselors at the University's Career Services office.
"I found my job through networking," Hewitt said. "I'm a believer."
In a small room packed with about 30 students yesterday, Hewitt, an associate director at Career Services, expounded upon the merits of social and professional networking as paths to employment in a seminar she called "Networking 101."
Hewitt and her team touched on the techniques of good networking and sought to dispel any connotations of "sleaziness" that it may have.
Hewitt divided the process into six steps.
n Step 1: Set goals.
n Step 2: Develop a contact list.
n Step 3: Arrange meetings with people on your contact list - e-mail's a good way to get in touch.
n Step 4: Prepare for the meeting - Google your contact beforehand.
n Step 5: Conduct the meeting.
n Step 6: Follow up - always send a personalized thank-you note.
Peggy Curchack, another associate director at Career Services who was at the seminar, said she disagrees with students who feel that networking is manipulative.
"A person doesn't need to be your best friend to help you out," she said.
According to Karen Dankers, a member of Hewitt's team, common errors during the networking process are unpreparedness, failure to follow up with your contact, failure to send a thank-you note and having a hidden agenda.
"Don't tell your contact you want a meeting with them to learn more about their organization and then walk in and plop a resume on their desk," she said.
Toward the end of the session, Engineering senior Max Braun asked the counselors if prospective employers check out potential employees' Facebook.com profiles.
The counselors answered in unison: "Yes."
"From an employer's point of view, your private life is public," Curchack added.
Many of the students in attendance took notes and seemed to enjoy the presentation.
Randall Sindlinger, a part-time graduate student at the Engineering school, admitted that he is lousy at networking.
"Networking to me has always been an abstract thing, and this made it feel more concrete," he said.
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