Why the Phrase ‘It’s Who You Know’ is Vital for International Students

‘It’s who you know’, that’s what they say, right? This is particularly true for international students, who can gain a lot from networking with international student graduates who now work in Australia.

That’s why events like the upcoming It’s Who You Know | International student and alumni networking are so important, as they give students the opportunity to hear directly from UTS international alumni sharing their stories, and offering advice about finding internships and graduate roles in Australia. Plus, they make networking easy! With no cold emails or awkward introductions, events like these are a fun and simple way to make meaningful industry connections.

Why?

Not only is networking one of the main job search strategies in general, but for an international student it is essential to adapting to Australia. Since we have left our networks behind, we need to establish new relationships with friends, classmates, colleagues and – for most – having to go without family nearby.

If you have a realistic view of workplace culture in Australia, your potential to find an internship or role after graduation increases. According to the AAGE Graduate Survey, “cultural fit” is one of the highest rated skills to employers. Therefore, for international students, networking needs to start as soon as you’re approved to come to Australia. But don’t worry, it’s never too late to get started.

Take note of a couple of myths on networking:

• “High marks will get me a job”: In Australia, and according to the AAGE surveys, your uni grades is only one of the main criteria they’re searching for. What they are looking for is a well-rounded graduate who fits into the culture of their organisation.
• “Networking is an event”: Networking for me, means connections. Therefore, whatever you’re doing to connect with people – whether in class, at work, or at an event – is networking, where you’re learning from them just as they’re learning from you.

Define

To get started, map your network and figure out where your knowledge and experience gaps are to determine who you should connect with to help fill that gap.

Ensure that you have specific goals for attending a networking event. For this particular event, the goals I hoped the attendees would have had were:

• To practise networking with other international students and alumni;
• Know the specific information they were looking for, whether with someone from their country or their course;
• To ask what the alumni did to keep their hope when times were tough;
• To ask how they managed the visa process after graduation and how this affected their job search.

Refine

Start connecting with as many people as possible is the usual advice. I would suggest, that you still have a purpose for connecting with someone, not just so a goal to know the most people in your group of friends. The more people you connect with the better you will become at judging and knowing how deep the relationship needs to be. By this, I mean that there are those who you will need to nurture and maintain the relationship while others will happen organically because your paths are intertwined by the work you do or your studies or other groups you belong to.

Practise, practise and keep practising

I’ve had international students ask me how I’ve managed to build my networks and it’s because I kept at it and I am still at it. For me it’s not about looking for work or adapting to Australia, but it’s about maintaining and growing my industry knowledge, experiences and relationships which is essential to the work that I do as a career development practitioner.

And if you want to try your hand at practising sooner rather than later, come along on Thursday 28 April to our in-person It’s Who You Know | International student and alumni networking event.

Featured image courtesy of Unsplash