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 résumé 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 über 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, résumé writing, interviewing, interning, and – if you’re in the design field – portfolio building. However, the number one thing you can do starting right now is networking. Whether you’re a junior in high school, just out of college or an industry veteran, you can always benefit from establishing connections with new people.
• | Is social networking the same as networking? Absolutely not.
Social networking is Networking Light. Actually, Extra Light. It certainly has fewer calories and is less filling, but the consequence is that it’s a great deal less effective. Yes, it does act as a supplement to rubbing elbows at meet-n-greets, but virtual linking, friending and poking can never reproduce the of reality of genuine handshakes with eye contact.
Think about it. Depending on your Friending preferences, you may be connected on Facebook with over 500 people, but how many of them would you a) not immediately recognize in person because you’ve never had a face-to-face conversation, or b) feel uncomfortable recommending for a job to someone with whom you actually have some sort of “real life” relationship? There’s nothing wrong with being connected with these people online, but as you can see, in the context of advancing your career it isn’t that valuable.
• | What do you need before you begin? Business cards.
You need these so that you’re not scribbling your contact information on the back of a soggy cocktail napkin. Keep it inexpensive, simple and concise. No impossible to read fonts or no images of animals. Make sure you include your…
- Name: If what you like people to call you is different than what your legal name is, then you’ll need to make a decision on how you want to handle it.
- Professional Affiliations: Be sure to check out your association’s appellation guidelines first as you might be referring to yourself incorrectly and risk misrepresenting yourself.
- Phone Number: Make this a number with voicemail that you check often, and make double sure that your voicemail greeting is suitable for everyone’s ears – not just your friends.
- Email Address: Nothing screams “I’m not professional” than an email address like hotstuff1980@yahoo.com, absofsteel28@hotmail.com or kutestkitty@gmail.com. Create an email address that won’t cause someone to contact you for all the wrong reasons.
- Designations: The point here is to remind someone why they even have your card in their possession. If you’re a student, include something like “Interior Design Student – ABC University.” If you are not in school and currently unemployed, use something like “Registered Interior Designer” or “Interior Design Graduate” depending on where you are in your career.
- Writability: OK, we made this word up, but what we’re trying to say is that it’s preferable that you have your business cards printed on paper on which someone can write with a ballpoint pen. Why? So that people can later make quick reference notes like “met at XYZ Job Fair” or “worked with my Uncle Miles” or “interested in internship.” It’s just one more little thing to help you help others to help you.
Stay Tuned | Your assignment is to get your business cards in order so that you’ll be ready for the next installment when we’ll review setting goals, where to go, and how to muster up the confidence to get started.
To bridge the gap between the student / educational community and the professional / manufacturer community of the interior design world, and not to die of boredom while we do it.
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ASID is proud to announce the winners of the 10th Annual Student Design Competition: Repurpose for Today. The Grand Prize goes to Molly Sherman of Pratt Institute for "Wheels of Empowerment: Mobile Learning Environment for Migrant Workers". Honorable Mention goes to Kelsey Conroy of Virginia Tech, Misty Brecht of Anderson University, and Sarah Yacko of Ball State University.
GO HERE to see the winning projects.
Enough Said T-Shirts
Created by a couple of Milwaukee interior designers with a quirky sense of humor, a healthy dose of sarcasm and a heaping serving of caring. Check out Enough Said to find fun t-shirts with a message.
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