By investing time in relationships today, you lay the foundation for a thriving career. In Milestone 4, you’ll discover essential strategies to cultivate a strong professional network, setting you up for lifelong career success.
Start Getting Connected
Networking expands career opportunities for a lifetime. Build a strong network of connections to access across your career by developing and nurturing academic and professional relationships.
Download and complete the toolkit below to create a strong foundation for building relationships. This toolkit will help you identify your existing connections, learn networking best practices, and develop a professional introduction that showcases your value.
Networking is an ongoing process. Now that you’ve identified your existing network connections, learned best practices, and prepared your elevator pitch in the Networking Toolkit (PDF) or (MS Word), it’s time to expand and diversify your connections to unlock more career opportunities!
Download and review the Networking Activities Handout to identify networking activities that will benefit you most.
If you’re feeling nervous about getting started, read CPD’s Top 10 Tips for Working With Networking Anxiety.
Gain career insights from WGU students and alumni—including data on where they work, what they studied, and their top skills.
View LinkedIn Alumni Tool on LinkedIn.
Connect with industry peers, develop your leadership skills, and build a lasting professional network at WGU. Professional associations and networks offer a valuable platform for connecting with others in your field, providing education, resources, and insights to advance your career and stay up-to-date with industry trends.
Connect with Night Owls across the country who are ready to help you! Ask questions and gain valuable insights to support your career goal.
Grow your network by connecting with WGU alumni, students, and employer partners.
Review these resources to learn more:
Messaging Employers in Handshake (Handshake Article).
Handshake Peer Messaging (Handshake YouTube, 3:05)
It’s important to stay in touch with your network to maintain positive relationships, which can lead to ongoing support, collaboration, and mutual benefits. Review the content below to identify strategies for nurturing your connections over time.
To foster long-term relationships, engage regularly with your connections via email, phone, professional associations, and social networking platforms, like LinkedIn and Handshake.
*To access LinkedIn Learning videos, please first log in with your WGU credentials.
Use the “Networking Thank You Email Template” from your Networking Toolkit (Page 3) to follow up with any contacts after meetings/events or when they provide advice, insights, or support.
Great work completing Milestone 4!
If you’d like more support with networking or have additional questions about this milestone, our career advisors are available to assist you.
Contact us at careers@wgu.edu or read our FAQs.
Are you seeking a way to stand out from other candidates in your field while having unique access to other professionals and best practices/recent developments? Are you aware of the top professional associations related to your field and/or where to locate such information? View …
Is your LinkedIn Profile “lonely?” In other words, have you created a strong LinkedIn Profile yet struggle with maintaining your engagement with the site? Depending on your current focus with utilizing LinkedIn, it may be easier for you to engage with this valuable …
Whether you are currently employed in the position you desire or are searching for a new position, it never hurts to keep yourself informed, educated, and up-to-date in your professional realm. Taking time to engage in professional development opportunities not …
