If you have a chance to attend a finance networking event, take that opportunity. As you may or may not know, networking is very important in finance – your next job offer could be the result of someone you met at a networking event. But what should you expect and what should you do?
Step 1: Do research about the Company
When was the company founded? What does the company do? You do not want to ask questions like these during the networking event – know these answers beforehand. Do a little research on the company so that you are familiar with it.
Step 2: Prepare Questions
It is important that you prepare some questions beforehand. Was there something you were not able to find on the Internet that you would like to ask? Ask those questions. You can also memorize general questions to ask when you are talking with people, such as:
- Tell me about your Career Path
- Why Finance?
- What do you like best about your job?
- What is the Culture like?
Step 3: Come prepared with materials
I recommend getting your university’s folder, which you can use during the networking event. The picture below shows mine from MIT.
In this folder you should put the following things:
- Notepad (if not included with the folder)
- Pen
- Several copies of your resume (depends on the size of the networking event – 15 copies should be fine in most cases)
- Your Business Cards
- A piece of paper with questions you are going to ask
- Mints (in case you eat some fish at the event)
Here is a checklist of the items: Networking Checklist
Step 4: Make sure you talk with the recruiters
At a finance networking event, there will be many people from the firm – there will be senior people and junior people. There will be people working at the firm who are alumni of your college. These people are important to talk to, but also remember to talk with the recruiters! Thank them for organizing the event and make sure you have their contact info. The recruiters are the people who look through hundreds and thousands of resumes and who decide which people get an interview. By meeting the recruiters in person, you are putting a face to the resume, and that means you are more likely to stand out.
Step 5: Balance your conversations with different people
At a recruiting event, there is always the difficulty of balancing your conversations. What do I mean? There are the two extremes with conversations:
1. You talk to the same person the whole recruiting event
2. You talk with everyone for a very short period of time at the recruiting event
You want to avoid both of these extremes. It does depend on the duration of the networking event and the amount of people there, but mostly you want to balance who you talk with. You may develop a closer relationship if you talk to only one person, but you may miss out on an opportunity to talk with someone else who could be very useful. If the networking event is long and there are not that many people, then try and talk with everyone; otherwise, try to have meaningful conversations with several people rather than quick talks with everyone.
Step 6: After talking with someone, write down what you talked about
This is very useful. First of all, it will help you to retain the information and advice they give you. Secondly, the next time you meet them you can refer back to your previous conversation (they may be impressed), and thirdly it will be useful when you write your follow-ups (I will talk more about this). In your notebook, jot down their name and write a few bullet points about them and about your conversation.
Step 7: Follow Up
This is an important step. After meeting everyone, follow up with them via email. Ask for their business card (and you can even give them yours) and email them after the networking event. It is recommended to email them within 24 hours of the event. What do you say? Thank them for attending the event and talking with you. Then, refer to specific things you talked about with them (this is where Step 6 comes handy) and write a sentence about your interest in the firm.
Step 8: Make a Good First Impression
This one may seem obvious, but remember that a first impression is made within the first 7 seconds of meeting someone. Always smile, give a firm handshake, and talk politely. Beware: a networking event can be tiring, so make sure you have some energy before. Have fun!
How much should you talk about yourself/experiences and how do you actually start the conversation (after the awkward “Hi, my name is Luana”)?
Hello Luana, thank you for your comment. You always want to give an introduction which would include your FULL name, your university, your major and year. After that, only talk about yourself if they ask you a question or if you can connect your experiences to the conversation. You do not want to be the obnoxious person who lists their achievements, GPA, SAT score etc.
A good example of connecting your experiences to the job is the following: ‘Last year I worked at a small bank. I discovered that I was really interested in fiancé and I enjoyed the internship. I was given a lot of responsibility and worked on a project that helped increase the revenue of the bank. However, I worked on the project mostly by myself and I missed working on a team. How often do you work in a team?’
This is a good example because the person has talked about their experiences, but has also connected it to the job, asked a question and shown that she likes teamwork!
This example could also be a good conversation starter. As I said, start with an introduction and then ask them a question – such as ‘What group are you in?’
Thanks for the previous answer! How many people in general should we expect to talk to?
Do you have a template of a follow-up email? Thanks!