Opportunities can pop up just about anywhere. You need to have people in your network who know you, your abilities, and your interestsso your name will immediately come to mind when an opportunity, lead, or interesting tidbit comes on the scene.

Your network should not be limited to corporate professionalsit should include your own school, including career center and alumni association staff, professors, and others who work in departments or offices in your area of interest (like finance, marketing, public relations, fundraising, etc.).

They may not have ideas or contacts for you immediately, but if our company were to call your school looking for a student or recent graduate to interview for an upcoming issue of our Dose of RealityTM newsletter, would they think of you?

And were not the only company looking for interesting people to talk to. Why should I care about magazines calling my school, you ask? The exposure you get in a national publication, a local newspaper, or on TV, is simply invaluable. It gives you an impressive bullet to put on your resume and may lead to important network contacts that otherwise would never have been discovered. But they cant recommend you if your name doesnt come to mind.

Of course, press coverage is far from the best or only reason to make yourself known on your campus. Opportunities for job leads, customers for your business, and other career contacts can come from your alma mater as well as from any other source. Everyone you meet has a different circle of friends and contacts...and they have friends and contacts...and they have friends and contacts...

So dont overlook a potentially powerful source of contacts and opportunitesget out there and introduce yourself!