How do you create business relationships with professionals while in college?

After graduating from high school, some people choose to further their education by going to college. College is a cultural experience that many people find exciting, challenging and life changing. Everyone is different, therefore everyone has different stories and experience to share and learn from. However, many people that go to college have one thing in common. They use the higher education to network, and find lifelong connections that will keep them set for life.

Whether someone is going to school for pharmacy, or they plan on having something to do with entertainment careers, they can still use the college experience to find connections that will help them reach their goals more easily. Going into the entertainment field can be risky and difficult, and in this profession, it is more about who you know instead of what you know. This may seem unfair and corrupted, but it is the way of the world. So, getting entertainment industry internships can be easy if you meet the right people that are connected in the right ways.

Professionals in the entertainment industry can be hard to track down, and even harder to talk to. But, with the right attitude, and the right skills, the task becomes easier. It is up to you to find programs and clubs at school that may give you a better chance at meeting someone involved in entertainment careers. There is always a lot going on around college campuses, and usually, you will be able to find something or someone that will help you professionally.

After finding entertainment industry internships, networking is still necessary. Just because you are on the right track in the direction you want to travel, that doesn’t mean that you have achieved everything you are searching for. So, finding connections that are even higher up in the entertainment world can undoubtedly benefit you in the long run. You can never know too many people or have too many connections; that’s not plausible. But, it is possible to not know enough people, or not have enough pull in your profession of choice. It doesn’t matter if you are just a college student looking to meet someone successful doing what you like to do; or if you are the CEO of one of the biggest companies in America. You still need to continue to network in order to get even more help and credit.

College should be seen as a stepping stone in the process of bettering your life. However, some people see it as a social ordeal, and they get wrapped up in superficial nonsense. But, those who choose to find connections, learn about their career, and push themselves to new limits, are the ones that gain success.

Networking is the Art of Building Relationships

Benefits of Networking

  • Companies estimate that they fill more than 25% of their positions by networking
  • Earlier chance at an opportunity
  • Building a professional network for the future

What is Networking?

  • It’s a learned skill
  • It’s all about visibility
  • It’s about building alliances, not about job hunting
  • It’s not a replacement for talent, it’s about being recognized as talented

Networking is NOT…

  • A one-way street…it must benefit both parties
  • About gaining the confidence to call strangers to ask for a job
  • Always productive…expect some people to not respond

Networking IS…

  • Maintaining connections and building alliances
  • Often more effective on an informal basis
  • Collecting information, educating yourself about employment opportunities, increasing your list of professional contacts, and informing them of your availability

Tapping the Hidden Job Market

  • Experience shows that networking is a very rich source of:
    • Job leads
    • Information about unpublished job openings
    • Career advice

Join the BCEA to learn more about the art of building relationships in the entertainment industry!

Hands-On Experience

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