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Networking and LinkedIn

Networking means having conversations with people whose work interests you. Most of it is asking good questions and following up. You already have a network: professors, supervisors, classmates, church members, family friends and WWU alumni. Another way to frame it is simply building a professional community around yourself.

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Start with informational conversations

An informational conversation is a short chat, usually 20 to 30 minutes, where you ask someone about their work. You're not asking for a job. You're learning what the work is like and how people got there. It’s an incredible way to find out if a pathway interests you.

An informational conversation in five steps: 1, list five people, starting with people you know; 2, reach out with a short, specific message; 3, prepare four or five questions; 4, keep it to the time you asked for; 5, send a thank-you within a day and follow up when their advice helps.
  1. List five people in fields that interest you. Start with people you know. Alumni are a great option as well.
  2. Reach out with a short message (there's one you can adapt below).
  3. Prepare four or five questions.
  4. Keep to the time you asked for.
  5. Send a thank-you within a day, and let them know later when their advice helped.

Example questions to ask:

  • What does a typical week look like for you?
  • How did you get into this work?
  • What skills matter most in your field right now? What’s changing?
  • What do you wish you'd known when you were starting out?
  • Who else would you suggest I talk with?
A starter message to adapt and add to

Hi [Name], I'm a [year] at Walla Walla University studying [major]. I found you through [LinkedIn, a professor, our church] and I'm interested in [field]. Would you be open to a 20-minute conversation in the next few weeks? I'd like to hear how you got started. Thank you for considering it. [Your name]

Remember to adapt this to your own writing style and add to it. Consider mentioning:

  • What it is about their experience or approach that you appreciate
  • Some of the questions that you are interested in asking
  • Specific dates or times that you are free for a conversation
  • Another option in case they are not available: “I completely understand if you don’t have time, I would also appreciate it if you could tell me about others that I might benefit from talking to, books I should read, pages I should follow, etc.”

Build your LinkedIn profile

  • A clear, friendly photo where you're easy to recognize
  • A headline that says what you're studying and what interests you, not just "Student at WWU"
  • An About section of a few sentences in your own voice about yourself and your goals
  • Experience entries with short descriptions, written like resume bullets or in short paragraphs
  • Education, skills and a custom profile URL you can add to your resume

Then use WWU's LinkedIn page to find alumni. Go to the page, open the Alumni tab, and search by employer, location or what they studied.

At events

Career fairs and employer visits count as networking too. Prepare a short introduction: your name, what you're studying and what you're curious about. Then ask each recruiter a question about their organization. Learn more about Career Events at WWU.

Coming soon

Alumni Engagement is building new ways for students to connect with WWU alumni.

Get the tools

More message examples and a LinkedIn profile checklist are in Handshake.

Want to practice reaching out or talk through who to contact?

A note on AI

People can tell when a message was generated by AI. Write outreach in your own words and mention something specific about the person and why a conversation with them would be meaningful.