Youth Curriculum - Building Your Network

We have all heard the saying, “it’s not what you know, but who you know.” This statement reflects the truth about the professional world, since roughly only 20% of all open positions are advertised. Networking is thus a key component of increasing your opportunities of obtaining employment. This workshop addresses why having a network is important and how to start to build one’s network. This workshop also addresses how to conduct an informational interview as well as how to craft an elevator pitch. Participants will engage in exercises to determine their current network as well as identify how to expand their current network. Special emphasis is placed on how to leverage informational interviews and elevator pitches to build one’s network as well as how to craft an elevator pitch. Participants will also be tasked with creating their own elevator pitch and practice delivering the pitch.

Target Audience: In-School Youth, Out-of-School Youth

Essential Questions: By completion of this workshop, participants should be able to answer the questions:

·       How does networking improve my likelihood of obtaining a job?

·       What should my first step be in creating a professional network?

Vocabulary Terms:

·       Networking

·       Network

·       Elevator Pitch

·       Informational Interview

Duration: 1 hour, Virtual (Content is housed in Keywe)

Course Code: Youth1

To request access to this curriculum, click here.