How To Network

Learning to network is crucial to getting a job and progressing in your career. However, networking tends to get a bad reputation. Networking is not about using people to get ahead, it is about building professional relationships. If strong relationships are built it can aid you in your career by offering industry and professional information, information about job openings, assistance with the job placement process, and other network contacts.

So how do you network? First, you need to meet people. The easiest way to meet people is to start off by talking to friends and family members and asking them if they know anyone in your industry. Another way to find contacts is through networking events, LinkedIn, and meeting people in your daily life.

Once you have contact information you should set up a phone call or meet them somewhere to talk. You will want to ask them questions about their job, industry, and experiences as this information can be helpful to you and people typically like to talk about themselves. The contact will typically ask about you. Make sure you are prepared to give a brief description of where you’ve been, what you’re doing, and what you want to do. It’s okay if you don’t know what you want to do especially if you tell them you are exploring different industries. If you have more questions or would like a different perspective you can ask them if they know anyone else who could give you more information on a specific topic. This is a great way to gain more network contacts.

After the initial contact it is important to follow up with them from time to time so they are thinking about you. One easy way is to add them on LinkedIn. If the first conversation went well then I would reach out again and ask them more questions you have about their job, industry, or experiences. Another way to maintain relationships is to email your contacts an update when something big happens such as you got an internship, a new job, or are going back to school. Once a relationship is built you can ask if they know of any job or internship opportunities but never directly ask for a job or internship. Directly asking for a job or internship is a good way to lose network contacts and ruin your reputation.

Networking doesn’t come natural to most people. But the key to building a great network is to be networking every day. Some of my best contacts are college friends as they know me very well from working long hours together on projects or homework. Other places I have met contacts are on a plane, networking events, LinkedIn, church, family, friends, work, through other network contacts, and cold calling/emailing. Remember you are building a relationship so treat them professionally.

Tips:

·         Keep track of all your network contacts. I like to use an Excel workbook with their name, email, phone number, job, and a few notes such as how I met them.

·         Take notes when you first talk to a new contact. These notes can remind you about the person and what you talked about the last time.

Common Resume Mistakes:

When writing a resume it can be hard to figure out what employers want. You can have many professionals review your resume and everyone will have a different opinion. Below are some tips on how to write a better resume and how to avoid looking like the rest of the competition.

1.      Be Specific

One of the biggest mistakes that I have seen when reviewing resumes and one that I have personally made is not being specific. For example, when listing relevant course work or skills don’t list something general like statistics. You should be specific such as mathematical statistics, time series modeling, non-parametric modeling, etc. Companies want to see exactly what you know and how you can help them.

 

2.      But Not Too Specific

I like to be as honest and upfront as possible but sometimes this can lead to listing irrelevant information. For example, if you have worked at a company and have been promoted twice you should only list your most current position. Make sure to list any relevant skills you have acquired throughout all of your work at that company but having multiple positions typically doesn’t add any useful information.

 

3.      No General Resumes

Write a resume specifically for the job or type of job you are applying for. I know it is time consuming to write a resume or cover letter but make sure the document is specifically for that type of position. For example, I have a marketing, corporate finance, quantitative finance, data scientist, trading, and investment banking resume. Each resume is targeted to a specific job which means that all of the resume should be relevant to the position I am applying for.

4.      Write For The Position Not Yourself

Don’t write a resume based on what you think has helped you the most; write a resume that is specifically for the employer. For example, I worked at a start-up company for 8 years and I personally think my wide array of skills make me valuable because I can learn quickly and can get anything done based on my experience. When I listed these skills I couldn’t get interviews or call backs because companies don’t understand how this would help them. Everyone has more skills than would fit on one page but you really need to think about the skills you have that employers will pay money for. Don’t list experience if it isn’t relevant. When I read a resume and there are irrelevant topics I get frustrated and just skim the rest of the resume with the intent of throwing out the resume.

 

5.      Guide The Reader

Everyone that reads a resume is busy whether they are an HR recruiter, a managing director, or a network contact reviewing your resume. The most important sections of your resume should be the largest and the most important information should be at the top. For example, you should always list your experience in chronological order but the most important experience should be listed at the top of that job section. I thought my work experience was valuable but companies didn’t and when I made my past work experience smaller and my education section larger more companies started contacting me.

MAE - Introduction To Me

The next few blog posts are made for current MAE students both first years and second years. I encourage everyone to ask questions, add advice, or leave comments.

First off I would like to introduce myself to everyone and share a little bit about what I’m doing and why I am involved with the MAE program. I started at BYU-I pursuing a biology degree with the goal of being a plastic surgeon. After a summer program at BYU-I I realized that I needed a better school that could get me where I wanted to go. I also didn’t think I would be able to cut live people open and so I transferred to Washington State University (WSU) to pursue finance. My father is an entrepreneur and started a company that creates precast concrete restrooms, shower, and utility building for the US government and other corporations. I started working there in high school doing secretarial work and over the next eight years I would work in almost every facet of the business. My experience at this company made me pursue finance and business. Economic courses were a part of the business curriculum and I fell in love with economics ever since Econ 101.

My senior year at WSU I took a financial engineering course and really enjoyed the added complexity to finance. I felt like I was cheated in my business degree since we lacked the math, statistics, and computer programming that seemed so valuable on Wall Street and in life. After graduation I continued to work for my father and applied to finance jobs in banking all across the US and specifically in New York. I only got a few phone interviews with no follow ups; even after networking with alumni and other contacts. I decided I needed a master degree in financial engineering and applied to about a dozen schools across the country with my dream schools being Columbia and Princeton. I ended up with an offer from Michigan and an offer from Claremont’s MBA program with the option to apply for the financial engineering program after I took a few more math courses. It was an easy choice due to Claremont’s absurd tuition cost and the fact that Los Angeles has a higher cost of living.

My wife and I moved to Michigan and both worked on our master degrees. The financial engineering (MFE) program at Michigan was crazy with the amount of course work and the depressingly low exam scores. I felt there were drastic changes needed for the program to make it competitive. I spoke on deaf ears as I talked to the program director and staff. After a depressing first semester I decided to transfer into the Applied Economics (MAE) program at Michigan. The program had five core courses and the ability to choose any other relevant course for an elective. I thought this was a great opportunity to continue my education and specialize it in financial engineering while maintaining a more reasonable academic environment.

Ever since I graduated from WSU I had been looking for a high end finance job and it seemed impossible without the best network contacts. Everyone I talked to said they got lucky or they knew someone that passed their resume to the right people. This was very frustrating as I had been networking for years with little progress. I noticed that other students around me were also struggling especially those with no work experience. I wanted to build my network and figured helping others would be a good way to make meaningful network contacts.

For the past year or so I have been volunteering my time and knowledge to improve the MAE as best as I can. I hope all of you find these posts helpful and participate in group discussions.