Written by Destiny Henschel
On September 17th, Concordia University Chicago (CUC) hosted Nyassa Kollie, a Peace Corps Recruiter, to give the students some insights on how to network. With Kollie’s ecstatic and energetic attitude, students found themselves engaged and asking questions throughout her whole spiel. Students from all ages and ethnicities came to hear what Kollie had to offer.
To start off the service, Kollie compared the process of networking to “making a friend.” This, means it takes effort to create and maintain a network, just as it would a friendship. Sharing a real-life story, Kollie was trying to gain employment at a University, but was not getting connected to people. But when talking to one of her friends, she was able to gain employment at the University. It turned out that her network was in a connected position to get Kollie the job. Throughout the story, Kollie was asking the audience questions and connecting to everything each person was saying. She created a larger network while describing networking.
Next in the service, Kollie began giving tips on how to start networking. By being “genuine with a personal story” Kollie described, you will stand out in any situation. In addition to talking, however, you also want to allow the other person to talk. In these situations, you should be actively listening to what the other person is saying. After the conversation, Kollie advised students to write down two unique facts about the person. Then, the next time you see that person, bring up the facts you learned about them to show that they are special and stand out to you.
In today’s environment, it is very easy to stay in touch with people, especially with social media. One final tip Kollie brought up was to create a LinkedIn account. On LinkedIn, we have the freedom to find a job, post about a job, connect with others, and much more.
Kollie ended the service by telling students to contact Career Services for more information at career.services@cuchicago.edu or (708)209-3033
