Harleen Ghuman ‘22
Networking is a key component in contributing to career success. It is essentially creating long-lasting professional relationships with people you meet during your professional journey. When a lot of people think of networking, they are immediately drawn to networking within their own preferred career industry or specific job function. While it is beneficial to network with those of the same career interests and same aspirations as you, stepping out of your comfort zone can help you gain more insight and widen your career interests!
A Great Learning Experience
No matter how much we know about our own career industry or the career path that we want to take, there is never a moment where we stop learning. Learning about different career industries may pique an interest you never thought would have! By doing so, you may have a new interest to pursue or a new industry you may want to enter and develop some experience in. Remember, there is a job for everything in each industry. You can still pursue marketing while working in the legal industry or work with data in the non-profit sector. Your options are endless when you widen your career horizon!
Build More Business Connections
Each new connection, regardless of career or industry, has the potential to grow into a stronger relationship. There is always room to grow your professional or mentor network. This is your chance to get a deeper understanding of the different experiences and job functions that happens in different departments of your intended industry. Additionally, you never know when you might have a career change in the future, and when you do, it is always good to fall back on some of the connections you have made when networking outside of your career field or industry!
Where Do I Start?
Networking outside of your comfort zone can aid in finding a new profound interest in your career journey. So where should you start? A great place to start is by attending Macaulay Career Development events! These events range from Industry Talks, a panel discussion of several professionals with similar to distinct job functions in the same industry, to our Professional Lunch Series, an individual discussion with a professional from industry to talk on a more personal level about their professional journey. Career Development events allow the chance to network with the invited professionals and to learn more about the industry. It is not uncommon to hear of instances where students walk out of our events with a new career interest! Visit our Career Development Events page to view any upcoming events.
So what are you waiting for? Get out there and explore the professional network. The career world is your oyster!
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Interested in writing a blog for the Career Development blog? It’s open to Macaulay students and alums. If you would like to contribute or have any questions, feel free to email Jamie.Ruden@mhc.cuny.edu.