Network & conduct informational interviews

Networking is the process of discovering and making use of connections between people. These network connections can be as informal as talking to your family and friends, or as formal as attending a career event with prospective employers. Networking is useful for gathering information about a certain industry, organization, career path, or skill. Networking is about building relationships with people who can provide information and advice, and may lead to future opportunities. One great networking resource is the MIT Alumni Advisor Hub, an online platform to connect with alumni for career conversations and informational interviews.

 

A woman wearing a hijab and a microphone headset waves at someone on a virtual interview.

Informational Interviewing

A great tool to help deepen your existing connections and expand your network is informational interviewing. Informational interviewing is a great way to initiate a network connection and to further enhance your relationship with your network. Informational interviews are an opportunity learn about a variety of occupations and organizations through a conversational set of questions.

A smiling woman speaks to two other people in a casual setting.

Networking

Networking is the process of discovering and making use of connections between people. Your network connections can be as informal as talking to your family and friends, or as formal as attending a career event with prospective employers. Networking is how you develop professional and social contacts to expand your exploration of a certain industry, organization, career path, or skill. Networking is about building relationships with people who can provide information and advice, and may lead to future opportunities.

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How to Network

An important feature of networking is that it takes time. Here are the steps you may need to follow to grow and develop your network. Keep in mind that there is not one right way to network, so you may …

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Ways Your Network Can Help

Tapping into your network can provide plenty of expected and sometimes unexpected benefits. If you approach networking with an open mind, you might get some really tangible benefits that can take your career in new ways. As you approach different …

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Suggested Questions for Informational Interviewing

Probably the easiest way to leverage your network is through conducting an informational interview. An informational interview is an opportunity for you to ask questions of a person to gain insight and information. Informational interviews tend to be short (20-30 …

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Conducting Informational Interviews

Informational interviewing is a low-pressure way to gather career information from people who are already working in occupations, organizations, or geographic locations of interest to you. Both the content and the information, and the process of gathering it will help …

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Culture500 from Sloan Management Review

Explore the ultimate culture scorecard.

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Featured Resources

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An important feature of networking is that it takes time. Here are the steps you may need to follow to …

Tapping into your network can provide plenty of expected and sometimes unexpected benefits. If you approach networking with an open …

Probably the easiest way to leverage your network is through conducting an informational interview. An informational interview is an opportunity …

Informational interviewing is a low-pressure way to gather career information from people who are already working in occupations, organizations, or …

Explore the ultimate culture scorecard.

Culture matters. Now we can measure it using over 1 million employee reviews. Find out …

Professional correspondence guidelines (with samples)

Whether you are sending a follow-up email, requesting a new interview date, negotiating aspects of an offer package, or declining …