Speaker Sessions Are Really Networking Sessions
Newhouse has been generous to offer us countless speakers in every program offered. I know mostly about the Eric Mower Advertising Forum speakers, being in the Advertising program, but I have seen similar flyers featuring speakers in journalism, public relations, and various other experts of some type of media. These speaker sessions are a great way to receive a little extra insight from the perspective of a non-professor. I have learned at least one thing from each session, but the last one I attended with Natalie Kim made me realize that the speaker sessions might as well be called “Networking Sessions.”
They say it’s about who you know…
Networking is all about building relationships and finding an advantage in your field through the people you can reach out to. The best network is people who are recognized for their work and have a few years of experience, but those people can be hard to reach if you don’t have a mutual family member or acquaintance. You might never know them, unless somehow they were miraculously brought to you. That would be great, right? They are! Newhouse is bringing them right to you! The most work we have to do is find a way to ask a good question or say something memorable and interesting. Besides that, the people we look up to are standing in front of a small room with no security guards or barriers keeping us from making a personal connection. Say “hello” and a few other words after their presentation and you’re already a step above all the other students who will be looking for a job this summer.
These speakers share at least one networking tip…
Natalie Kim was a great example, as she hosts her own podcast about networking and job-hunting (it’s called “We Are Next” if you want to check it out, I definitely recommend it). She knew that finding a job is an important concern that’s top-of-mind for a lot of graduate students, and she modeled her entire presentation around networking and some of our career concerns. Not all presenters will be like that, but they will talk about themselves and what they experienced. If you have a specific networking question, they are always happy to respond afterward (every speaker session has a Q&A, without fail). Asking your own question is likely better anyways. It will make you more memorable, which is also a part of networking.
Hear from an expert, speak like an expert…
We are students and we do not know everything. We definitely do not know how the seasoned professionals feel about our branch of the communications industry; that is, unless we have a chance to listen to them firsthand. The speakers are going to present an interesting view of the industry and it likely will not sound academic. They will speak the same way they do with their colleagues, which gives us the opportunity to pick up on what’s most interesting and important to the people who may be interviewing us in the future. Listen, absorb, reciprocate.
With that in mind, why not take what’s free?
Networking is important, time-consuming, and difficult for most people. The speaker sessions allow us to network in a new way that is not available to most people outside of Newhouse. Don’t attend a speaker session because a professor tells you to; go for yourself, go to network, go for your career.
