What's more important? Having connections or experience?

Hey Krystal! That is a great question! I do not believe that one outweighs the other. I think they are mutually important in advancing in any career that you choose. Typically, having the right connections will aid in the ability to get in the door within an organization. Once you get your foot in the door, it is important that you surround yourself with the "right" people. Surround yourself with like-minded individuals who are motivated and determined to succeed. Spend time with people that are in higher positions than you and learn from them. Building relationships is extremely important in the workplace. However, building relationships only goes so far. In order for those relationships to be "beneficial" in your career path, it is important that they know what you bring to the table. What experience, skills, drive, etc do you have to offer the organization. No one can nominate you purely on the fact that "you are friendly". The more experience that you gain while also building bridges is ultimately what will advance your career the furthest.

Nowadays the best way to stay in contact with a business professional, no matter which field they are in, is to set-up a LinkedIn account and ask to make a connection. If you are not familiar with LinkedIn, it's basically Facebook but for working professionals. You don't post personal or inappropriate topics or ask to "friend" someone. Instead, you post or discuss items that are related to your education or career and you "connect" with other professionals as a way to network.

Both connections and experience are important but sometimes it's who you know and not what you know. This means that to get your foot in the door at a company you need to know someone who works there to get your resume in the right hands for an interview. That's why it's important to establish as many contacts in your chosen filed as possible.

Once you have a contact list you can start interacting with them by posting interesting articles to your page or monitoring their posts and commenting every now and then. You can even keep everyone up to date with projects you're working on at school and any awards you've received. The important thing is to be remain active on LinkedIn to gain more exposure.

Experience means more. Connections can mean many things. Doesn’t always equal getting a job.

Connections after certain year of experience can lead to a profile you wish for

Both are vital, a connection can help get you an interview or get you in front of a de3cision maker but if you don't have the experience to be able to intelligently answer questions or fulfill the duties the job requires the connection is meaningless.

Interesting question, I believe that who you know matters if who you know has a stellar reputation. In addition, if you are afforded an opportunity and your work does not match your skills/experience not only can your reputation take a hit for future opportunities, but your recommendation lost their credibility too. It takes 5 positives to erase 1 negative (this varies per site and the the seriousness of the negative). If you use your skills and sell how your skills/experience will help the business, your positive reviews will outweigh you negatives and or neutrals. I recommend to build relationships based on your skills/experience.

Having experience and exceling in that opportunity, will organically building connections for you. As a business professional, I'm more likely to recommend someone for a job, if I know about their work ethic based on previous experience.