Mapping Your Network
Now that we understand the value of professional networking and understand our beliefs related to networking (see Toolkit 1 here ), you may be wondering what your social network looks like? Well, let’s map it out!
Why is it important? Understanding what our network looks like now can help us identify what type of supports we are currently getting from our network, as well as begin to identify gaps in our network so that we can more strategically and intentionally develop our social network to pursue our professional goals.
To understand what your network looks like, we must first understand who is in your network and what types of supports you get from your network.
Activity
In what follows, we will first map your social network and identify what types of support you receive from your network. Second, we will self-reflect to identify several future-oriented professional goals for yourself so that we may identify new additions to your network that can help you pursue those goals.
Follow the instructions in the tools and answer a few questions to map out your network. Don’t worry — your data won’t be stored anywhere! This also means refreshing the page will reset your progress.
[Mapping tool to be embedded – under construction. Below is a sample image of what the mapping tool would look like.]
This is an accordion element with a series of buttons that open and close related content panels.
I mapped my network - what's next?
Now, we saw our networks provide us a range of supports from emotional, fun, to information and access to opportunities. However, it is unlikely that one person can provide us with all types of support. Therefore, it is important to continuously build our professional network as our professional goals become clearer as we gain new experiences and reflect on their significance. By considering what you’re currently getting from your network (step 2) and identifying what you want in the future (step 3), you can begin to intentionally build your professional network.
Based on your responses, you can reverse engineer your responses to generate goals and identify gaps in your social network. By doing so, you can begin to create a plan for how to strategically and intentionally build your social network to achieve your professional goals.
To consider your future goals and how your network could support you, reflect on the following questions:
By [insert date in the future], after I have completed [my summer internship / this semester / this academic year / college], I want to…
- Be located X… (Where do you want to live?)
- Have learned X… (What do you want to have learned?)
- Be working in / doing / pursuing X… (What do you want to be doing with your time? What do your days look like?)
- Have grown… (In what way would your life be better? Different? In what way would you be different? In what ways would you have grown?)
- Feel… (How would you feel?)
- Become the type of person who… (How would you characterize the type of person you have become? What is this person’s characteristics? Values? What activities do they engage in?)
Example
By August 15, 2025, after I have completed my summer internship in project management, I want to:
- Receive a full-time offer for conversion and be able to relocate to the city that I completed my internship in. More fully understand the role and responsibilities of a project manager.
- I want to feel confident in my ability to manage projects and communicate effectively to key stakeholders.
o I want to have done a good job with my summer project, performed well in my internship role, and have impressed those that I worked with so that they see me as potential for a full time hire conversion. - My life would be better because I would feel like I am making progress toward building a corporate career and developing a professional network that can support my career as I determine what is next for me once I graduate college.
o My life would be better because I would have the potential to achieve financial stability by securing a full-time corporate job after I graduate from college. Since I grew up seeing my parents struggle with finances despite working assiduously, I want a career where I do not have to feel burdened by the stress of financial insecurity.
For example, based on the “In Example” in step 3 above, this person may intentionally build connections at their summer internship by having lunch with colleagues on their team and other teams each day and intentionally expressing interest in others to get to know them. This person may also invest significant time and effort into accomplishing their summer project by learning, asking questions, and ensuring ongoing alignment with their internship supervisor so that they accomplish their goal of performing well in their internship role and doing everything within their control to impress those that may influence hiring decisions regarding full-time hire conversion.