I have a confession to make.
When I got into grade school a whole new vocabulary opened up for me as my circle of acquaintances became larger. I have always loved words, and relished using as many new ones as possible. When I began incorporating four letter words into my vocabulary, my mother effectively stopped an early swearing habit by pulling out a bar of soap and charging me 25 cents – a fortune for a six year old – every time I used one of the words on her list of offensive terms. After losing my hard earned allowance and sampling Palmolive more than once, I quickly dropped the habit of using colorful language.
As a Career Counselor, I feel like the word “networking” is treated with the same derision as all of the other objectionable words I was taught to avoid as a child. When the term is used by job seekers, I sometimes see that same puckered up facial expression I had after having a bar of soap swiped over my tongue. Even I catch myself using phrases like, “I hate to tell you this, but you’ll have to do a lot of networking for that type of position.”
Why We Need a New View of Networking
What would happen if we changed our perception about networking, and instead of treating it like a four letter word, rewarded ourselves for every time we used the word or engaged in a relationship building activity? Imagine all the leads a job seeker would receive (or how much more quickly an attorney would get promoted within their career) by building a network of sponsors and advocates.
Why do you need to embrace the term networking in your vocabulary? If you are looking for a job there is one simple reason – approximately 70% to 80% of all jobs are never advertised! This means that you are not going to find those positions by turning on your computer.
Additionally, candidates with extensive networks are able to identify people within the target organization to get advice, get their resume pulled from the big pile of submissions, and get the inside scoop about what’s happening with the job search process.
Leveraging Your Alumni Network
Santa Clara Law has an extensive network of alumni – about 11,000 overall with approximately 5,000 to 6,000 in the Bay Area. How can job seeking students and graduates access and leverage off of the alumni network?
- Attend alumni events. A list of upcoming events can be found at: law.scu.edu/alumni/alumni-events.
- Research the alumni. Beginning in their second year, law students may receive access to the online alumni directory at: law.scu.edu/alumni/alumni-directory. Contact the Law School External Relations office at 408-551-1748, 866-554-6800 , or lawalumni@scu.edu to obtain an alumni ID number.
- Find alumni through LinkedIn. There are several Santa Clara Law groups which you may join.
- Identify fellow Broncos by using the “School” filter on large firm websites or in directories such as Martindale Hubbell.
- If you are targeting a specific employer, you can use the advanced search field in the Attorney Search function on the California Bar Association’s website. You will need to click on all the attorney records for that organization to see where the attorney attended college and law school.
- Finally, many of the professional associations in Silicon Valley are led by Santa Clara Law alumni. Job seekers who join and successfully engage in one of these organizations are destined to meet more than one fellow Santa Clara Law graduate.
In following blog articles I will talk about what networking is – and what it is not – how to successfully integrate social media into a networking plan, and how even the most shy and introverted person can network with the best of them. For now, please remove 25 cents from the word jar and compensate yourself every time you use the word “networking.”
Vicki Huebner, Assistant Dean for Law Career Services, Santa Clara University School of Law
Vicki Huebner is the Assistant Dean in the Office of Career Management at Santa Clara Law. She is a seasoned career services professional and is a frequent speaker and author for industry related publications and meetings and holds appointed and elected positions in NALP, the Association of Legal Career Professionals. Prior to entering the career services profession, Vicki practiced civil litigation in Huntington Beach, California and served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Ronald M. Holdaway of the United States Court of Veterans Appeals in Washington, DC. Vicki earned both her JD and BA degrees from Brigham Young University in Utah.
