Introduction to Build Your Professional Network

Professionals build relationships with others to help them find jobs, develop their careers, and achieve their goals.

A professional network is all the people you know who can help you find a job or develop your career.

You might ask someone in your network to be your reference for a job application, or for advice about how to succeed in a job you already have.

Even if you’re still in high school, you can begin building your professional network.

If you’re searching for a new job or internship, or want to learn more about a company or industry, it’s helpful to connect with a professional who has knowledge about the role, company, or industry you are interested in.

Building your professional network can help you: Get valuable career advice about your field of interest.

Discover new job opportunities.

Find a job or get an interview.

And develop important relationships.

Someone you meet may become your mentor, employer, coworker or friend.

When you begin building your professional network, it’s good to start with the adults you already know.

People who could help you find a job or offer career advice might include: Family members, Friends of your family, The parents of your friends and classmates, Teachers, coaches, and guidance counselors at school, And managers and coworkers from internships, volunteer work, or summer jobs.

All of these people are potential members of your professional network.

They can be valuable sources of information, advice and support.

They also have professional connections of their own.

They can help you directly, or put you in touch with someone they know who works in your field of interest.

In this lesson, you will begin building your professional network.

As you complete this lesson, you will: Create a spreadsheet to organize your existing professional network, Search online for a new professional contact to add to your network, And write an email to request an informational interview.

A digital spreadsheet helps you collect, organize, and store information so you can keep track of all the people in your professional network.

This lesson uses Google Sheets, but you could apply these skills and concepts in any spreadsheet application, or even on a piece of paper.

To work on this lesson, sign in to your Google account.

Open a new tab in your browser, and navigate to Google dot com.

If you are not signed in, do so now.

If you do not have a Google account, pause the video and create one now.

To begin, create a new spreadsheet in Google Sheets and give it a title.

Then, move on to the next video to add headings to your spreadsheet.

Now, it’s your turn: Sign in to your Google account, And create and name a new spreadsheet.