Let”s face it. Between worrying about passing tests, surviving group projects, and building a portfolio, the typical interior design student has dedicated only about 17 brain cells to networking. No, we”re not talking about “social networking” ” we”re talking about face-to-face, in-the-same-room, reach-out-and-touch-someone networking. The kind that puts your resume at the top of the pile and establishes your reputation before you ever walk in the room. So let”s explore the how, why, when, what and where of this mysterious, yet uber critical, subject so that you can stay ahead of the crowd.

” | What does networking even mean” It”s an upmarket term for “getting out there and meeting people.” It”s that simple.

Sometimes you network for personal reasons because you just want to meet people in general. For instance, if you move to a new city to attend school or start a new job, chances are that you”ll be leaving behind one network, will know very few people, and will need to start a new, additional one to ensure some sort of social life. In the case, you might network via common interest groups like running clubs, cooking lessons, painting groups or dance classes.

The majority of the time, though, networking is a concentrated effort to help develop your career or business, which leads us to Item No. 2″

” | Why do you need to do it” In a nutshell, to expand your business contacts and industry knowledge base, to develop strong peer relationships in order to establish a positive reputation, and to seek out new opportunities.

Getting a job is tough, and getting a job you like is even tougher. So many factors go into landing something fulfilling: researching, r