Creating Opportunities for Student Networking

7 ways students can message their target people (e.g., alumni) without connecting on LI or buying LI Premium: Networking with alumni, recruiters, and industry professionals is one of the highest-ROI activities students can engage in while in college. But LI limits non-Premium users (i.e., most students) to 5 connection notes per month, making outreach harder. Here’s how students I work with bypass this limit (without paying for Premium): 𝟭. 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘀 Some Premium users enable “Open Profile,” allowing anyone to DM them without connecting. Simply click “Message” on your target person's profile — if it says "Free message," you’re good to go. 𝟮. 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘀 𝗯𝘆 𝗠𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 If you share a mutual connection with your target person, ask for an intro. The mutual connection can add you both to a group chat on LI, where you can continue the conversation without connecting. Find mutuals in People Search or under “Mutual connections” on their profile. 𝟯. 𝗠𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽𝘀 You can DM anyone inside the Groups you are in. Scroll down to your target profile's Groups section, join one they are a part of, and search their name inside the group to send a DM. Since you can only search by name inside a group, identify your target profiles beforehand. 𝟰. 𝗦𝗼𝗳𝘁 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 If your target person posts content, engage with their posts before reaching out. React, comment, and repost a few times to build familiarity. When they recognize your name, they’re more likely to accept your connection request (even without a note). The marketing rule of 7 applies here: multiple touchpoints build trust. 𝟱. 𝗘𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗹 Most people check their email more often than their LinkedIn DMs. Some organizations (e.g., universities, non-profits, smaller companies) might list their employees' emails on staff pages. If not, tools like Hunter.io can help you find email patterns. Once you get the format, you can apply it to other names at the same company. 𝟲. 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝘂𝗺 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 Before paying for Premium, use the free 30-day trial. This unlocks unlimited connection notes and monthly InMail credits. If you choose to buy Premium for networking reasons, consider buying it one month at a time during your peak networking season. 𝟳. 𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘀 Career services offices often have alumni contacts and can make introductions via email. Take advantage of their network to connect with alumni in your target roles. — PS. These are just a few of the tactics I cover in my ‘Leveraging LI as a College Student’ workshop, which I’ve led to hundreds of at 25+ universities. Most LI workshops stop at profile optimization. This one teaches students how to fully leverage LI, including turning connections into opportunities. Want to bring this to your students? Let’s talk.

“Interview a professional in the field.” It sounds like a great assignment. Real-world experience. Industry connection. Authentic learning. The kind of thing we’re “supposed to be” assigning. But here’s the quiet problem: That task requires more than time. It requires social capital and not every student has that. Some students already have a network. They have their parent’s colleagues, a former internship supervisor, a family friend in the field. Others are starting from scratch without any leads. They’re first-generation. They’re new to the country. They’re juggling work, caregiving, and school. And when asked to “reach out to a professional,” they don’t even know where to start because no one has showed them. That’s the part we often miss. We have good intentions, but these assignments don’t just test content. They test privilege. We can easily redesign this. We can build the same skill without requiring the same network. Try this: - Offer options: “Interview or analyze a public figure in this field.” - Provide a list of professionals who’ve opted in to student interviews (great way to bring in alumni) - Simulate the experience with curated panels, videos, or sample questions - Even better… teach how to build professional connections before making it a requirement Equity doesn’t mean making things easier. It means making success possible for students who weren’t handed a head start. Because when we ignore social capital, we’re not assessing learning. We’re just exposing the gap. And then grading it.

I am starting to see more field education staff post in social work Facebook groups asking if anyone knows of placement opportunities for students in specific regions. First off, that is ahhhmazing!!!👏🏾🎉 This is the progress students are seeking. It shows creativity and care in finding opportunities for students. You might also consider engaging students more in the process of securing a placement. I get it, you don’t always have the capacity to find every single student their very own personalized placement. This is where the teach a person to fish principle applies. As a field education coordinator, director, or staff member at a CSWE-accredited social work degree program, you can have more intentional conversations with students. Ask them, what industries are you interested in, is your vision micro or macro, or what populations do you feel called to work with? Then, You can guide the student to identify 4–5 agencies in their area. You teach the student how to make that initial contact, introduce themselves, and ask who the right person would be to connect with about becoming a field placement site. The student brings back the contact info, and then your office can handle the vetting and approvals. This framework is student empowerment, workforce readiness, and modeling advocacy and networking skills they will need for their careers. You can also get creative with the field placement. I’ve served as an off-site field instructor in Florida for students interning at libraries in New Jersey. They had task supervisors on site for day-to-day work, and I provided the supervision and signed off on hours. It worked beautifully because we leveraged flexibility instead of being boxed in by limits. To add the online program has a budgeted line item to pay off-site field supervisors to provide the services to their students as a result of them recognizing the need for being able to place students and then also getting off-site support from LCSWs. Field education is the heartbeat of social work programs. When students are aligned in placements that match their interests, the outcomes ripple far beyond graduation. Retention improves. Alumni outcomes improve. Your program’s reputation strengthens. Most importantly, students walk into their careers with clarity and confidence. Kudos again for making posts in Facebook groups and being open to taking your process a step further. Let’s start equipping students to advocate for themselves, explore industries intentionally, and build networks that will serve them well beyond their internships. When field education staff do that, everybody wins. #socialworkcareermapping #workforcedevelopment #CSWE #NASW #socialworkers #socialwork #highereducation #behavioralhealth #speaker

From an International Student to Building a Thriving Entrepreneurship Community – My Playbook 📖✨ When I first arrived at UTA, I was just another international student, eager to explore opportunities. But as I met more people, I noticed a pattern—so many students had incredible ideas, side hustles, and startup dreams, yet most of them struggled to find the right support, network, or platform to showcase their work. I still remember a conversation with a fellow student who had a brilliant business idea but felt lost. "There’s no real place for students like us to connect, learn, and grow," he said. That was my aha! moment. The Problem: A Community Waiting to be Built 🚀 The gap was clear—UTA needed a structured platform for student entrepreneurs. The talent was there, but the ecosystem wasn’t. So, instead of waiting for a solution, I decided to build one. Taking a Product Management Approach 🏗 Like any good project, I started by identifying key stakeholders. ✅ The Users – Student founders, creators, and side hustlers ✅ The Stakeholders – University leadership, local entrepreneurs, investors ✅ The Solution – A dynamic, student-led entrepreneurship community The first step was founding the UTA Entrepreneurship Club—a space where students could learn, connect, and grow. But I knew a club wasn’t enough. We needed real opportunities. Building Something Bigger 💡 To create impact, we launched: 🎯 MavMarket – A vendor marketplace where 250+ student businesses showcased their work, generating $70,000+ in revenue and drawing 3,000+ attendees. 🎯 1 Million Cups Arlington – A startup networking event, bringing founders, mentors, and investors together. 🎯 Speaker & Networking Sessions – 20+ events connecting students with industry leaders. With every event, we learned. Every success came with new challenges, new iterations, and a constant drive to improve. The Impact & What I Learned 🌍 Looking back, this journey was more than just creating events—it was about building a culture of entrepreneurship at UTA. What started as an idea turned into something sustainable, something that will continue to grow even after I leave. 🔹 Lesson 1: Start with the problem. The best solutions come from real needs. 🔹 Lesson 2: Stakeholder alignment is everything—collaboration fuels success. 🔹 Lesson 3: Iterate, iterate, iterate. No project is ever perfect from day one. This experience has shaped me as a product & project leader, and I’m excited for what’s next! 🚀 To everyone out there building something—what’s your story? Let’s connect! #Entrepreneurship #ProductManagement #ProjectManagement #StudentFounders #Innovation