By: Joe Tait, Epsilon Phi Class of 1982

Whoever said “it is not what you know but who you know” was prescient regarding the state of the job market in these tough economic times.  Networking has always been a key ingredient in a long-term career plan and it is even more important today.

What is networking?  It means getting out of your shell and participating in activities related to your career.  Not the technical training that we all need to do (that is a given) but more social things that will help to develop your career.  It requires a time commitment on your part but is well worth the trouble.

Consider joining professional organizations – they are a great way to network and they come in all shapes and sizes including the ones that I belong to as an IT professional. The Student Professional Organizations at your school have chapters of Association of Information Technology Professionals or AITP, Association for Computing Machinery or ACM and many other societies that can help you now and more so down the line. 

There are groups for every major discipline from Medical, Finance, Life Sciences, Pharma, Marketing, HR, Real Estate etc.  A quick web search will help you to find the right one for you.  Invest the time and it will pay off in the long run.

As your career progresses you will want to stay involved and start to participate in the groups for more senior folks.  TPNG (Technology Professionals Networking Group) is for IT people with 8 or more years experience and TENG (Technology Executives Networking Group) is for VP/CIO types like me.  I personally belong to a few other groups like SIM (Society For Information Management), IERG (International), Chem-Pharma (just what it sounds like) and The Greater Philadelphia Senior Executive Group or GPSEG (all disciplines working in the Philly area).  All of them are networking groups for senior executives that help to build your business contacts.

Make sure that you join and stay involved in the Alumni Association from your school that is yet another great way to network.  A very high % of Temple alums still live and work in the greater Philly area and I have come across them many times during my career.  Check with your school alumni office to find the one that is for you.

The National Office is working on a new strategy to help the undergraduates get connected to alums for mentoring, networking, finding summer jobs and internships and other valuable career planning programs.  This is in the very early stages of development and will be presented at the January 2010 conclave and start growing from there.  Look for more to come on this topic. 

Join groups like Linkedin and Plaxo (think Facebook for business) – it is a great way to stay connected in the business world.  Your 6-degrees of separation link to virtually anyone on the planet comes into play here so use your parents, aunts, uncles and friends too.  People all work somewhere and you will be amazed at where the connections come from and how valuable they can be.  I tell people that you already know the person who is going to help you to get that next job you just have not figured out who it is yet.

And finally think about volunteering for local organizations that need help.  At a technology steering committee for the Free Library of Philadelphia a few years ago I got to know a number of high profile CIO types who I am still in touch with.  These connections have led me to get invited to a number of advisory boards at Philly area colleges and some day may lead me to a Board of Directors position at a company.

The value of your school connections can make a great impact on your career if you manage it properly.  Network, Network, and Network some more…

Joe Tait is a Senior Information Technology Leader with 25 years of progressively responsible IT management experience in diverse industries.  Joe holds an MBA in Decision Support Systems from Southern New Hampshire University, as well as a BA in Computer & Information Sciences from Temple University.  He is active in support of the industry through his participation on numerous Society For Information Management (SIM) committees, local university technology advisory boards as well as presenting at seminars on topics of current interest. 

Joe is currently the Director of Information Technology at NMS Labs in Willow Grove, PA.  Prior to this position, Joe worked at a number of Philadelphia area companies including Nutri/System, Comcast, Covance, and The Campbell Soup Company.