Leah
How can you stay in contact with professors after you graduate?
I'm in a school were networking isbreally wncouraged and I understand that in terms of preparing for your future. However, I don't think anyone has mentioned the small ways you can stay in contact with people after graduation orbwhy thatvwould be important. If you know someone that has information on your field after youvfraduate you may be abke to talk to them about things but if you haven't kept in contact, that can be a difficult relationship to have.
1 answer
Genevieve Cawthorn
Genevieve’s Answer
The best way to keep in touch with people, especially professionals, is email. If you come across an article or current event that reminds you of them, reach out, share the event/article, and ask how they're doing. It also helps to keep them updated with what you've been up to. Let them know what classes you're taking, what type of internship you'll be doing, any type of group or organization you've joined, etc. People in your network love to know you're doing well. Also, don't be shy to ask for advice. For example, asking someone to review your resume or insight into their profession. When you're on winter or summer break, ask to see if they're available to meet for coffee. If they mention any upcoming events, try to attend. Reaching out every couple of months is good. If it's been longer than that, you might want to include a "refresher line." A refresher line is a sentence that reminds the person how you two know each other. For example, you might want to say in the beginning of the email, "Just to refresh your memory, I was a student in your marketing class."
Another good way to keep in touch with people is LinkedIn. LinkedIn is the social media network for professionals. This is a good way to see if someone has a new job, promotion, published an article, etc. From there, you can reach out and congratulate them, see how they're doing.