The Networking Guide for Career Explorers
Everything you need to connect with your network to take your next career step
Get more connecting advice on our career explorer advice blog
Prepare your profile
New contacts want to know who you are, what you’ve been up to, and what you have in common, LinkedIn is where they’ll go to find that out.
☐ Education: List all schools attended
☐ Experience: Include at least 3; the best entries are those related to your career interest
☐ Headshot: Have close-up on your friendly face, simple work-type attire
Add your connections
Lots of people know you. It is your job to connect them to one another through LinkedIn. Before you reach out to others, do your part to build the network community.
☐ Who: Send LinkedIn connection requests to all those who know you (classmates, coworkers, teammates, friends, family)
☐ How: Spend 1 hour to send 100+ LinkedIn requests. No need to customize them – these people know you!
☐ How Many: 250+ for professionals with a few years of work experience; 100+ for undergraduates.
Get connecting tool
MANGO is a free app that helps with all the tactical aspects of the connecting process. Watch video to see how.
Learn how to connect
Career Explorer course shows you how to navigate every step of the connecting process to find your fit.
What you need
Finding the right people depends on what you need. Explorers want:
- Big picture of a field or industry to figure out where you fit
- Understand options and tradeoffs
- Recommendations on best organizations in an industry
- Advice for solving a big problem or overcoming an obstacle
- Introductions to people in a field
Who's best to talk to
Best Contacts for Career Explorers:
Advisors are people in your network 5+ years experience, on your same career path.
Have Extensive Experience Give Directional Advice Offer Industry Contacts
Learn more about Advisors and how to find them.
How to find them
Follow this free step-by-step course to see how to find 3-5 Advisors in your LinkedIn network now.
Why questions matter most
The key to a “conversation that clicks” is asking the right person the right questions that tap into their expertise…and avoiding questions that don’t.
Who are the right people when you’re stuck? Advisors can help you make the right career move.
Conversation prep
We get it. Your conversation is tomorrow and you want to feel ready. Get Tips to walk into your conversation confidently.
How to find the
right questions easily
No need to guess. Let MANGO recommend questions that click with your contact every time.
Watch video to see how MANGO works for you.
Learn how to
prepare questions
Follow this step-by-step tutorial to see how to prepare the best questions that lead to referrals and insider advice.
How to reach out
Best tools for writing conversation request emails that really connect
Example: Conversation request email
Tip Sheet: Conversation Requests
Tutorial: Follow this step-by-step course
How to write
networking emails
Don’t struggle with what to say. Write customized emails without the guesswork with MANGO.
Watch video to see how you can build custom emails including:
- Conversation Request emails
- Confirmation emails
- Thank You emails
- Check In emails
How to follow up
Best tools for writing thank you emails that solidify a relationship
