Advisors Can Be Great Examples of Networking Eileen Doyle Crane, J.D. Prelaw Advisor Utah Valley University

P RIMARY G OAL FOR 100 X JD For all prelaw students to know 100 lawyers by the time they graduate from law school

S ECONDARY G OALS To create a personal AND professional safety net for future professionals To decrease the likelihood of some of the problems that most professionals in highly stressed situations often experience, such as: – Depression – Divorce – Alcoholism – Suicide – Malpractice

H OW P ROGRAM W ORKS FOR A LL M AJORS Students in all majors are concerned about their future career Students need mentors If they are not sure what their future career involves, then they need advisement about how to discover the various options Shadowing people in various settings helps students discover what they like and do not like about the world of work Identifying a mentor among your/their contacts will help students have someone who is willing to guide their progression Most professionals are excited and eager to help current, newly- graduated, non-traditional, and exploring students consider their options

M ETHOD BE A GOOD NETWORKER YOURSELF Connect students to former students and persons in the community who you know Teach students how to network Introduce them to as many contacts per year through events, introductions Facilitate on-going opportunities to expand student networks To teach professionalism and other important skills about how to succeed in their chosen field

I NTRODUCTIONS T ELEPHONE I NTRODUCTIONS : Call former students or members in the community to introduce them to your student and ask directly for their help. E MAIL I NTRODUCTIONS : Hi Rod: I am hoping that you are feeling better since your last treatment. I am writing to introduce you to ****, a UVU grad who served in Spain, who has applied to TJLS. He has not heard anything at all back from the school but I encouraged him to have a frank discussion with you about law school and about TJSL. ****, Rod is a great friend of mine and has helped my students for many years. He is the best recruiter on any faculty in the country!!! He’ll be a great resource about TJSL and lots of other schools. Thanks, Rod! Eileen

A LUMNI D ATABASE

B UILDING A N ETWORK Contact an ______ Offer to take him/her to lunch, breakfast, meet at their office or somewhere mutually agreeable to discuss ____ as a profession Respect the time and place requirements of the _____ Pay for the _____’s meal (most will not let a student pay for their meal and will offer pay for both) Ask specific questions (see handout of suggested questions) Ask for the name of two other _____ that might be helpful to learn from or meet

A NTICIPATED R ESULTS Students will know people working in a variety of work settings Students will gain confidence in the wisdom of their choice to study ___ or work in a particular field or they will gain information that will cause them to question their choice Student will adjust their TV/media-driven perception of ____ to a more realistic perception that could increase future career satisfaction

R ISKS OF I NACTION Career placement challenges Lower career satisfaction Fewer contacts for professional support Increased isolation in their career Exposure to fewer non-traditional placement opportunities, if student decides not to go to graduate school or use their degree in the typical manner Difficulty or inability to repay school loans if they are un-, under-, or inappropriately employed

100 X __ E VENT P LANNING Set a date at least two months ahead Secure a location Send out a Save-the-Date to your students or publish the date in the outlets you normally use for publicity Invite twice as many professionals/graduates as you have a goal to have attend Mail/ /call to invite professionals/graduates Create a spreadsheet of contact information Send out reminders to students the week of the event, one week ahead for the guests Give guests your cell number, in case they get lost on campus or something comes up Set up ½ of the room, theater-style, and ½ of the room with tables like a law fair or hang signs around the room with name of attorney and firm/business Teach networking skills Introduce all guests in the room to larger group Panel: 3 guests (young person w/ 20 years experience, & a career services professional; each discusses the role networking has played in building their profession or obtaining employment Handouts: Networking Tips, Networking for Shy People, Plastic sheet business card holders, other prelaw info Leave an hour, or whatever time is best for your students and the guests, for a fair-like event, where students talk to as many of the guests as possible Serve refreshments; place different ones in each corner of the room to encourage students to circulate around the entire event Send thank-you notes to each guest who attended within one week of the event

UVU 100 X D EGREE Career Development Center Internship Office Services: – Individual contacts – Contacts at DC + other work settings – Visits to work settings – Resume and interviewing skills

C ONCLUSION This is not a jobs program This is a happiness-building program The average person spends 97,464 hours working from ages 18-65, based on an average 8-hour day, 5 days a week Let’s build happy graduates who are having very satisfying experiences in their life! Good Luck! Thanks for all your hard work as advisors!