Did you know that 40-80% of jobs are filled through referrals?
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!
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.
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.
Learn Follow-Up Strategies & Best Practices
To foster long-term relationships, engage regularly with your connections via email, phone, professional associations, and social networking platforms, like LinkedIn and Handshake.
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.
Consider creating a shortened version of your template for text messages and direct messages on online platforms.
Direct Message/Text Example: “It was great meeting you at [Event/Location]! I really enjoyed learning more about [topic] from our conversation. Would you be open to a coffee or a brief virtual meeting soon? I’d love to chat further. Looking forward to hearing from you!”
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.
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 …
You may be wondering how to network when you’re an introvert. Well, you know what they say, “ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE”. Introverted individuals’ biggest fears could very well be networking, and that’s ok. The tips I will provide you with …
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