Networking over nightclubs? Students are knuckling down more than ever
We have our whole lives to attend networking events. Many of us will wile away untold hours eyeing up canapes in a bid to get out of awkward conversations and the ensuing business card exchange shuffle.
So is it really a good idea to start it early?
Over a third of the UK’s most recent graduates “kick-started their career” the moment they set foot on campus and students are now spending an average of four hours per week on activities to boost their employability, according to research from the .uk domain. This adds up to 208 hours per year.
Read more: 19 icebreakers to use at awkward networking events
More than a quarter attended networking events to build up a little black book of contacts, while others gathered tips from successful businessmen and women at events.
A quarter of the 1,000 recent UK graduates also polished off the impression they make to employers with a personal website and a third with a LinkedIn profile.
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Good on those who know what they want to do and are setting out to do it. University isn’t there to be wasted after all, so knuckling down and making connections early can only help.
But The Capitalist hopes this is driven by an enterprising personality and not just unbridled pressure that there will be no jobs out there.
Read more: Graduates in England face more debt than students at private US colleges
Economic pressure, Nominet has said, is behind the priority shift, as fees increase and the number of applicants per jobs increase exponentially.
Still, with all the extra practice, maybe that means the graduates of the future will make networking more fun for us all.
They will have grown tired of the small talk and innovated by then – at least we hope…