The Edward H. Schmidt School of Professional Sales

Networking Night Preparation

 

Student Preparation

Company Preparation

Alumni Preparation

 

Networking Night Home

 

Student Guide to Leveraging Networking Night

 

 

Why attend

  • Get a better understanding of what a sales career entails by talking with current sales professionals about his/her own career
  • Expand your career contact network by talking to firms you might have missed at the college job fair and/or meeting new contacts
  • Increase and direct your exposure to the firms that are focused on recruiting sales talent
  • Follow-up in person with the firms you are currently targeting for employment
  • Meet the individual(s) who might become your next manager!!!
  • ...required for those taking a professional sales class this semester because Networking Night is designed to help with professional development and recruiting.  If you are unable to attend an engagement event due to a conflicting class that cannot be missed, you must provide documentation of your course schedule to the instructor at least one full week in advance of the event to receive an alternate assignment. Otherwise, you are expected to be there. 

 

Prepare

  • Research the companies using the organization and attendee information found in Memberclicks (you will need to login to access the Event Attendees list and Company Directory found in the Exclusive Protected Content section)   Memberclicks Guide for Students
  • Register by October 19 (T)
  • Review the Modality Guide to know what tech to prep, how the event will flow, etc
  • Update resume
  • Compose tailored cover letters for the top firms you are targeting (each firm getting a cover letter would be best)
  • Follow ESSPS social media for updates (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram)
  • Practice your opening
  • Review and choose conversation starters for Opening Networking
  • Review the conversation themes and prepare questions for the Table Talks

 

What to bring and how to dress

  • Resume
  • Something to take notes on and a pen
  • Suits – just like you would for your role plays

 

 open networking

  • Increase your confidence and exposure and improve your delivery by talking to as many recruiters as possible
  • Improve your credibility by delivering a well planned opening, addressing recruiters formally (ie: Mr. Smith), and thanking recruiters for their time
  • Figure out how well you fit with a firm by asking questions (see below for some ideas and make up your own):
    • How does this position fit in with Company ABC’s overall strategy?  (ie: What benefits are they expecting to receive?  Why do they use interns?)
    • What are your selection criteria for this position - personality traits, experience, education, etc?  (ie:  How will you be evaluating the different candidates?  What features are they interested in?)
    • What is the next step and associated timeframe?
    • What does a typical day look like?
    • What is your management style?
    • What kinds of training and coaching/mentoring programs do you have?
    • What does the career path look like from the sales intern/account manager?
    • Describe the corporate culture at Company ABC.
    • How did you come to Company ABC?
    • Where do my accounts come from (existing clients, marketing forwarded leads, etc)
    • How many of my accounts will be customers vs. prospects?
    • How are accounts (markets) segmented?
    • How will my performance be evaluated?  How often will I receive feedback?

 

 Table Talks

  • Students follow a schedule they made for themselves online in advance of Networking Night.
  • Table talks will have concurrent conversation tracks during each round to cultivate both student development and company pipeline.  Students self select which track they want to participate in and rotate each round to meet with a different company. 
    • Student Development Track - opportunity to learn and share specifics on culture & branding, internships, and career pathing  

    • Recruitment Pipeline Track - opportunity to learn and share specifics on internship and post graduation career openings
  • Companies are strongly encouraged to bring 2 people so one can handle student development and the other can handle recruitment pipeline.  
Round 1 6:00-6:30 Culture & Branding What are 3 key elements to your corporate culture?
How can I assess cultural fit?  What do I ask?  What do I look for?

My personal brand is _______.

Round 2 6:30-7:00 Learning how to Fail

How does coaching take place?
What is it about the new hire's role and responsibilities that pave the way for development in a way that accounts for successes and failures?

The best thing I learned or accomplished from failing is ____________.

Break 7:00-7:05 Break Break
Round 3 7:05-7:30 Internships

What skills does an intern need at the onset?
What skills get developed during the internship?
What type of hands on experience will I get with accounts?
What does a day in the life look like?
How will I get the training and coaching needed to be effective?

The skills, experience, and coaching I would like are _________.

Round 4 7:30-8:00 Career Lattice What could my career look like at your company over time?
What sort of upward and/or lateral paths exist?
What is the general timeline assuming performance is being met or exceeded?

I think I would like my career lattice to look like _______.

 

  

Follow-up

  • Send brief follow-up letters to the recruiters you met thanking them for their time/guidance/information/etc and/or expressing your excitement for pursuing a career with their company
  • Follow-up on any next steps that were discussed during the event (send a LinkedIn request, forward a resume, send availability to schedule job shadow or interview, apply online, etc)

 

Company Guide to Leveraging Networking Night

 

How to Update Your Profile - Organization/Company and Individual

Organization/Company - All the companies that attend the Networking Night will have an organization/company profile in Memberclicks that students can access to do background research.  Details on how to edit your profile in the Member Center are sent in your registration notice.  Click here to see a sample organization profile.

 

Individuals - Each ESSPS Corporate Partner individual that attends Networking Night will have an individual profile in Memberclicks that students can access to do background research.  Details on how to edit your profile in the Member Center are sent in your registration notice.  Click here to see a sample individual profile.

Memberclicks Guide for Companies

 

 

When to Arrive, What to Bring, How to Dress

  • Check-in to the Student Union or your first Zoom meeting link between 5:15pm-5:30pm so you can get situated before students start showing up around 5:30pm
  • Company name cards will be on the tables for those companies that will be onsite
  • You may bring corporate brochures/flyers, job descriptions, business cards, promotional items, and small table top displays
  • Dress as you would for work.  It is important for the students to see this part of your corporate culture.

 

Directions and Parking

  • Main campus map and driving directions
  • Park in lot 10.  This lot is the closest to the Student Union Auditorium and will not be ticketed for permits from 5-9pm on the evening of Networking Night.  Please be sure to use only this lot as using other lots will result in a ticket.  Please see our Event Parking page for further details.

 

Refreshment

  • Dinner will be provided onsite and via a food delivery e-allowance depending on the modality of the guest 
  • Online students and companies who register by the deadline can expect to receive their food delivery e-allowance email from Grubhub on 10/20 (W)

 

What to Expect from Students

  • Students will be professionally dressed and have been strongly advised to bring resumes
  • Networking Night is designed to have more social interaction than a job fair, so we are using round tables and online breakout rooms and encouraging people to eat during conversations
  • Students are encouraged to sit down and have conversations with recruiters.  They will be interested in learning about sales careers (yours and in general) and opportunities (current and future) at your organization

How Open Networking Works

How Table Talks Work

 

ESSPS Alumni Guide to Leveraging Networking Night


When to Arrive, What to Bring, How to Dress

  • Check-in to the Student Union or your first Zoom meeting link between 5:15pm-5:30pm so you can get situated before students start showing up around 5:30pm
  • Alumni tables will be marked for those alumni that will be onsite
  • Dress as you would for work.  It is important for the students to see this part of your professional life.

 

Directions and Parking

  • Main campus map and driving directions
  • Park in lot 10.  This lot is the closest to the Student Union Auditorium and will not be ticketed for permits from 5-9pm on the evening of Networking Night.

 

Refreshment

  • Dinner will be provided onsite and via a food delivery e-allowance depending on the modality of the guest 
  • Online students and companies who register by the deadline can expect to receive their food delivery e-allowance email from Grubhub on 10/20 (W)

 

What to Expect from Students

  • Students will be professionally dressed
  • Networking Night is designed to have more social interaction than a job fair, so we are using round tables and online breakout rooms and encouraging people to eat during conversations
  • Alumni will be speaking with seniors who already have post graduation jobs secured.  Students will be asking questions about what to expect in this next phase of life, and alumni can share their lessons learned and stories.

 

 

Last Updated: 6/27/22