Networking has a bad name: a room of strangers swapping business cards, or a message asking someone you've never met for a job. Neither is what this module means. Here, networking is building and keeping professional relationships that help both sides: you learn about work you'd like to do, and the other person gets a thoughtful new contact and the chance to help, which most people enjoy. It is slow, small and friendly, and it starts with people you already know.

Your network has three kinds of tie. Strong ties are people you know well and are in regular touch with: family, close friends, close colleagues. Weak ties are acquaintances: course-mates, people from a club, a former lecturer, someone you met once at an event. Dormant ties are people you once knew well but have lost touch with, such as former colleagues and managers. They are often the easiest to reconnect with, because the trust is already there.

Weak ties matter more than you might expect. In a classic study, the sociologist Mark Granovetter (1973) asked professional, technical and managerial workers who had found a job through a personal contact how often they had seen that person around that time; most said only occasionally or rarely. People you see less often move in different circles, so they hear about things your close circle doesn't. Almost fifty years later, researchers tested the idea with experiments on LinkedIn involving more than 20 million users over five years (Rajkumar et al., 2022). Moderately weak ties, people with whom users shared some mutual connections but not many, did most for job mobility: more than strong ties, and more than the very weakest. It also depended on the industry: weak ties helped more in more digital industries, strong ties in less digital ones. So the message isn't "only acquaintances count"; it is that your useful network is wider than your closest circle. That matters because many roles are filled without being widely advertised, and people hear about them from other people.

Start with a network map: four lists. Strong ties, weak ties, dormant ties, and people you'd like to know (a named person, or simply "someone who does this job there"). Aim for at least ten names. Then mark who is closest to your goal, or likely to know someone who is, and choose three to contact first.

The map works whatever your situation. A student has course-mates, lecturers, part-time colleagues and alumni. A career changer has a whole previous field of weak ties. A returner has dormant ties in former colleagues and managers. Someone in work can map colleagues in other teams: internal networking counts.

Andrew Hirst's tutorial How to Introduce Yourself, written for students meeting businesses at a trade fair, sets out steps that still work. Make friendly eye contact and smile: it shows interest and confidence. Say your full name, ask for theirs and use it straight away ("Good to meet you, …"), which helps you remember it and shows you were listening. Open with something light, such as the event, the venue or the talk you've just heard. To join a group, wait for a pause and ask, "May I join you?" Then talk about what interests them: ask about their work before you talk about yours. His tips still stand: never criticise, and keep your attention on the person in front of you.

Handshakes and other greetings. In many UK business settings a brief handshake is usual: say your name first, use a comfortable grip (Andrew's notes suggest about the grip you'd use on a door handle) and let go after two or three pumps. But greeting norms vary with culture, religion, disability and setting. Some people don't shake hands at all, or not with someone of another gender; in some cultures steady eye contact can feel rude. The safe rule is to follow the other person's lead: if no hand is offered, a smile and a nod are just as warm.

From introduction to elevator pitch. In Module 1 you prepared a 60-second introduction for interviews: who you are now, two pieces of evidence and why this role. An elevator pitch adapts it to a conversation with a different goal. Andrew's Networking Tutorial gives it four parts. Who: who you are, and the one thing you want them to remember. What: what you can offer, with your evidence. Why: why you rather than someone else, or what is distinctive about you. Goal: what you'd like from this conversation, such as advice, a name or permission to follow up. Andrew wrote it for student businesses at a trade fair; for a career, the business is you. Aim for about 150 words, roughly a minute spoken. Rehearse it aloud until it sounds like you talking rather than reciting, and be ready to stop after twenty seconds if the conversation moves on.

Where to use it. Careers fairs, employer talks, professional body events, local meet-ups and online events all reward a prepared pitch. Before you go, check who will be there and choose two or three people to talk to. At online events, a good question in the chat, with your name and what you're interested in, is often the easiest way to be remembered. Afterwards, note names and what you discussed while it's fresh.

Online, networking is mostly about being easy to find and making a good first approach. After someone meets you, they will often look you up, so your LinkedIn profile is the place people check. You wrote a headline and About section in Module 1; make sure the headline says what you do or want to do, and that your photo, location and education are filled in. It needn't be long, just honest and tidy.

Finding people. Start with your map's weak and dormant ties: search for former colleagues, classmates and lecturers. Then look wider. Most universities and colleges have a school page on LinkedIn with an Alumni tab, where you can see where graduates work and what they went on to do, and find alumni in your field to ask for advice. What the tab lets you search and filter changes from time to time, so explore the page rather than following an old guide. Professional bodies, LinkedIn groups and online events in your field are other routes, and mutual connections show you who could introduce you. A shared course, employer, club or town gives you a natural reason to get in touch.

The first message. Build it in three small steps. Why them: the connection you share and what interests you about their work. What you'd like: to learn, not to be hired. A small ask: something easy to say yes to, such as a 20-minute call or two questions answered by message. Keep it short, specific and about them. A generic request is easy to ignore; a note that shows you've looked at their work is not.

Check the limits before you write. At the time of writing (October 2026), LinkedIn's Help Centre says a note on a connection request can be up to 200 characters, and that members can add a personal note to only three connection requests a month unless they pay for Premium. Limits change, so check the invitation box itself. Two hundred characters is about two sentences, so save personal notes for the people who matter most. With others, connect first and send a fuller message once they accept, or use email if you have it.

What not to do. Don't send mass connection requests, don't paste the same message to everyone, and don't ask for a job, a referral or a CV review in a first message: it asks too much of someone who doesn't know you yet. If there's no reply, one polite follow-up after a week or two is fine; after that, let it go and try someone else on your map. Silence usually means busy, not no.

An informational interview is a short conversation in which you ask someone about their work and field, to learn, not to ask for a job. It is one of the most useful things networking produces: twenty minutes with someone who does the job you want can tell you more than hours of reading, and helps you decide whether the role suits you before you apply. People often agree because being asked for advice is flattering, and because the request is small and has a clear end.

Preparing. Read their profile and their organisation's recent news, so you don't ask what you could have looked up. Write five open questions: ones that start with what, how or why rather than inviting a yes or no. Good questions cover their path into the role, what the work is really like, the skills that matter most and the advice they'd give someone in your position. Have a short version of your elevator pitch ready, because they may ask about you first.

Running it. Thank them, confirm you have twenty minutes, and keep to it: watch the clock and offer to finish on time even if it's going well. Listen more than you talk, take brief notes, and follow up interesting answers rather than racing through your list. Near the end it's fine to ask, "Is there anyone else you'd suggest I talk to?" Don't ask for a job. If there is a vacancy they'll often mention it, and anything you learn about how they hire is a bonus.

The follow-up. Within 24 hours, send a short thank-you that names one specific thing you learned and anything you agreed, such as an introduction or a link they offered to send. If they suggested someone, contact that person, and later tell your first contact how it went: people like to know their help mattered.

Keeping in touch. A relationship needs more than one conversation. Keep a simple follow-up log: who, when you spoke, what was agreed and when you'll next be in touch (in a month or two, or when you have news). Later contact needs no excuse beyond being useful or kind: congratulate them on a new role, share an article that connects to something they said, or tell them when you've acted on their advice. Giving back matters too. You may not have much to offer yet, but you can introduce two people who should meet, or help someone a step behind you. That is what makes a network work for both sides.