Are there any business networking events tonight?

At university/business networking events, how do you break away from a question and answer situation and create a real conversation?

• At my University networking events where students get the opportunity to talk with employers I find I always get into the same loop of asking questions and the employer answers it and there never seems to be a fluid conversation because it's very formal. How do you break away from that and start a proper conversation at these sorts of networking events?

• Answer:

  The reality is that networking can feel rather artificial sometimes. The evidence is quite clear, no? You dress up in 'business professional' (I doubt you generally dress bizpro for all your classes, I do have a friend....) and you go into a room with a bunch of recruiters or business professionals who are standing around with glasses of bubblies in hand. It's hardly the intimate small group setting you probably want to 'organically' get to know your peers. There are a ton of different articles regarding networking so I will just give you my two cents (as a biz student who went through 4 years of this). My biggest tips - in no particular order: Research the event. Figure out exactly what kind of networking event you're walking into - are they recruiters seeking to hire students? or are they business professionals who are here to do a pitch and introduce their firm? Knowing the nature of the event will help you prepare. The former may be more interested than the latter to take your resume. The recruiters also expect you to Q&A them; it's their job. The latter are usually junior staff/managers who (often alumn) take time out of their evenings to meet and greet; they really don't want to talk about just work-related topics. The fact of the matter is, you're going to start with Q&A and then strategically add in some non-work questions, if you have time. Research the people. How do you get away from just Q&A? Find out who is coming. This is something I found useful when I was going to networking sessions - I would tap into alumni network or ask the organisers of the event (career center / professional student group) for the names of who were coming and then do a quick google search; this is fair game, let's be real. Usually, you will find some some useful professional ('X-year experience in Y industry,' 'invests in A, B, C space') and scraps of personal info (varsity tennis in high school, studied abroad in Barcelona, loves modern art). Armed with these pieces of information, you can formulate some questions and/or topics you would like to hit on, if given the opportunity. Know yourself. Very very well. So we went through things-you-should-do-before-the-event. Now you're at the networking event, there's a sea of other students... how do you stand out? Perfect your elevator pitch (sort of). And not the static version people sometimes pitch to investors but the kind where you know your story so well that you would be able to insert facts/stories about yourself into the conversation (given the opportunity). You want to have relevant stories to tell - maybe a biz professional talks about a recent engagement to Tulsa and you just happen to be from Tulsa. Listening to what people say and being aware of their tone (excited/sad/angry/frustrated) will really help you figure out what to say and when to say them. Follow up. You really just have to follow up and make a separate appointment if you want get their attention. Whether they're recruiters or people-you-want-to-be-in-a-few-years-time, they're really busy. It's really difficult to remember individuals from a sea of 30 - 50 people, all armed with similar stories of college experiences, cookie cutter questions and oddly formatted resumes. Get a little face time, secure a business card (yes, we still use those sometimes) and shoot an e-mail to schedule a coffee/lunch appointment. If you want to talk about the best pizza in town and why Justin Bieber is amazing... you're not going to be able to do it at the networking event itself.