Hayley Metzler
Contributing Writer
This spring, the Career Center is hosting its first seminar to talk about the concept of networking.
The seminar “The Art of Networking” will take place on March 26 at 4 p.m. in the Career Center library.
The campus Career Center has been helping students out with their networking skills for a while.
However, this is the first time they are having an actual seminar to help students better understand the important concept of networking.
The seminar will be open to all students, whether they are undergraduate, graduate or alumni.
According to Xuchitl N. Coso, director of career development, attending this seminar will be very beneficial to students.
“We felt we needed to provide a seminar to prepare our students to ‘network’ and gain some confidence when speaking to others,” Coso said.
Along with the seminar, the Career Center is having another networking-related event on April 2 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. in the Eleanor Searle room behind Joseph Reynolds hall.
This event will be similar to the one held last fall called “Moctails,” which was a networking event featuring members from Emerge, a branch of the Chamber of Commerce.
A chamber of commerce, also referred to in some circles as a board of trade, is a form of business network.
In other words, it is a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of those businesses.
Events such as these can help students gain confidence in their conversational skills.
It gives them the opportunity to practice speaking and interacting with others.
For students looking to develop or improve their networking skills, attending the Career Center’s upcoming events is encouraged.
According to Coso, networking is a crucial skill to have because it is an important way to connect with individuals, and possibly advance students’ careers.
“We want students to feel comfortable when approaching employers and alumni,” Coso said. “Networking is a learned skill, and not everyone feels comfortable meeting new people, so this is why we like to offer seminars to prepare our students and increase their comfort levels.”
