Hi Gary,
You'll find some great tools for exactly this type of exercise in the Resources section for Mod 1.
Gary,
I agree with this point. I had always had a somewhat negative view of networking-it sounded like 'shmoozing' to me but in the description I try to make the point that it is more like what you are suggesting-a hello at Starbucks-a comfortable conversation where you can at an opportune point, bring up the fact that you're looking for work.
Elizabeth Kemler
As I noted we encourage students to utlize their networks by calling networking simply "meeting people." We ask students to make a list of everyone they know including friends, family, ex-workers and then even the guy who they see everyday at Starbucks. We also bring in a speaker who used networking to find a job. Hearing from someone who has been successful is much more powerful than hearing from an instructor or a member of the career services staff.
I have found that networking is very important. However for our students that are less sophisticated in doing a job search I call networking "meeting people" because it sounds less threatening and means to just say hello to someone at starbucks instead of "formal networking" What are your thoughts?
