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What Strategies Can Be Done to Improve Sources I Know?

What I am trying to say, is that I need to know a many people as possible to improve my knowledge of my career and majoring in Communications and Political Sciences, and the way to come in contact with these individuals who have experience in this field. Where should I begin and what should I do? #career-advice

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Helana’s Answer

There are many ways to try to meet people in your chosen field.
- Student organizations focused on your field or related to your field.
- Professors that may be able to introduce you to an informal mentor or professional coach.
-LinkedIn (mentioned by another)

Additionally, with the specific field of communications and political science, consider volunteering for a political race in your area. You should find a lot of like minded individuals volunteering or working there. Once you start meeting people, ask them additional ways for you to meet others. It will become a domino effect.
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Michael’s Answer

Figure out where your audience is. Are many of them on LinkedIn? You can message up to 5 people for free on LinkedIn every day, so reach out there. Are they on Twitter? If their profile is public, send them a direct message.

Most importantly, when reaching out to these individuals, be purposeful with your questions and requests. The best way to have a stranger answer you is by offering them something they didn't have before. See if there is insight or information you can offer these individuals.
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Ken’s Answer

Getting to know yourself and how your personality traits relate to people involved in various career opportunities is very important in your education/career journey and in your ability to develop and continue meaningful relationship and to improve upon your existing sources. During my many years in Human Resources and College Recruiting, I ran across too many students who had skipped this very important step and ended up in a job situation for which they were not well suited. Many times the main problem was that they did not seek out and develop and maintain meaningful face to face real life personal relationships. Following are some important steps which I developed during my career which have been helpful to many and will help you to further develop the sources that you have and develop new ones.

Ken recommends the following next steps:

The first step is to take an interest and aptitude test and have it interpreted by your school counselor to see if you share the personality traits necessary to enter the field. You might want to do this again upon entry into college, as the interpretation might differ slightly due to the course offering of the school. However, do not wait until entering college, as the information from the test will help to determine the courses that you take in high school. Too many students, due to poor planning, end up paying for courses in college which they could have taken for free in high school.
Next, when you have the results of the testing, talk to the person at your high school and college who tracks and works with graduates to arrange to talk to, visit, and possibly shadow people doing what you think that you might want to do, so that you can get know what they are doing and how they got there. Here are some tips: ## http://www.wikihow.com/Network ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/nonawkward-ways-to-start-and-end-networking-conversations ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/4-questions-to-ask-your-network-besides-can-you-get-me-a-job?ref=carousel-slide-1 ##
Locate and attend meetings of professional associations to which people who are doing what you think that you want to do belong, so that you can get their advice. These associations may offer or know of intern, coop, shadowing, and scholarship opportunities. These associations are the means whereby the professionals keep abreast of their career area following college and advance in their career. Here are some tips: ## https://www.careeronestop.org/BusinessCenter/Toolkit/find-professional-associations.aspx?&frd=true ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/9-tips-for-navigating-your-first-networking-event ##
It is very important to express your appreciation to those who help you along the way to be able to continue to receive helpful information and to create important networking contacts along the way. Here are some good tips: ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-informational-interview-thank-you-note-smart-people-know-to-send?ref=recently-published-2 ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/3-tips-for-writing-a-thank-you-note-thatll-make-you-look-like-the-best-candidate-alive?bsft_eid=7e230cba-a92f-4ec7-8ca3-2f50c8fc9c3c&bsft_pid=d08b95c2-bc8f-4eae-8618-d0826841a284&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_20171020&utm_source=blueshift&utm_content=daily_20171020&bsft_clkid=edfe52ae-9e40-4d90-8e6a-e0bb76116570&bsft_uid=54658fa1-0090-41fd-b88c-20a86c513a6c&bsft_mid=214115cb-cca2-4aec-aa86-92a31d371185&bsft_pp=2 ##
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