Introduction: Navigating Your WIL Experience and Treating it as a Networking Opportunity
In this module, you will explore the concept of networking and how it relates to your forthcoming Work Integrated Learning (WIL) experience. Your WIL experience not only promises to foster your growth in competencies and professional expertise, but it also provides you with an opportunity to establish connections and cultivate a sense of community.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module, you will be able to:
- Identify the various ways you can prepare for your upcoming WIL experience
- Understand informational interviews as one effective networking strategy to use during a remote WIL experience
- Recognize a set of informational interview questions that would be beneficial for your informational interviews.
Preparation: Knowing the WIL experience
When beginning a WIL experience, even a more project-based experience that is remote, there is some preparation you can do before you begin make the most of the experience and support your networking goals for that experience.
Broadly, you want to reflect on your values, interests, skills you want to develop, and the contributions you hope to make in your WIL experience to support your job-readiness. Some questions you may reflect on are:
- What values do I share with this employer?
- What skills would be most relevant for this role that I want my employer and, if applicable, group to know?
- Are there options for me to choose a role that is connected to what engages me?
- What kind of impacts do I foresee making in this role, and how may I communicate that with my team/project lead?
The above is by no means exhaustive but gives you some ideas of how you can guide your research about the employer and prepare for your upcoming WIL experience. The more you research the employer, the more focused your networking becomes.
Next, we will review some tips for how to conduct that research.
Tips for Researching your Employer
Learn about your employer or community/industry partner
Developing an understanding of the organization can support your transition into the placement and can build confidence in your work and when interacting with colleagues and leadership. Within a shorter time frame of a WIL experience, your time to get to know the employer/partner and the employees is limited, and there may be other factors that present barriers for you regardless of length of your placement.
Depending on the identities you hold, work experiences can involve different barriers or challenges to navigate. The Identity and your career section of CareerHub is available as a resource to support folks with certain identities with some of these specific considerations and strategies to further support your research on employers.
What research you can do beforehand can put you in a good position to make well-informed, intentional decisions to make the most of your experience given your time there. Conduct your own research on the employer/partner via websites, LinkedIn, any relevant news items, and whatever information your instructor shares with you (don’t hesitate to ask follow-up questions). The information you can research includes:
- Employer’s mission statement and core values
- How your project will contribute to the employer
- Who will you be communicating with or reporting to regularly
- Which employees you will be collaborating with or who you’d like to connect with
- How does your role fit within the organizational structure of the employer
- Any other important items you are interested in knowing
The research you do will not guarantee 100% knowledge of the employer, but what knowledge you do gain will support confidence and direction when beginning your experience. Further gaps in knowledge can be discussed in informational interviews to learn more about the employer, or you may learn information through your experience working with the employer.
Know your expectations
In addition to knowing the employer/industry partner, find out exactly what is expected of you rather than assuming what is expected of you. Clarify instructions and ask questions. Your goal is to ensure you, the employer/partner, and the instructor have a common vision of your tasks, parameters and objectives. What are the priorities of the role? How is your performance evaluated? Will there be opportunities to receive feedback? How frequently and in what manner does the employer/industry partner wish to be updated on your activities?
On the note of feedback, consider asking for feedback from the employer/industry partner on your or your group’s performance earlier than is standard (e.g., at the end of the term). This doesn’t need to be a formal process; you might simply arrange a time to chat about your or your group’s progress and any concerns you have. Early, constructive feedback can be incredibly valuable in helping you navigate the project, improve and succeed in the experience, and ensuring the goals you set are achievable.
Establish expectations within your group (If applicable)
If you are working with your peers in a group project, it’s highly recommended to establish expectations, communication guidelines and schedule check-in points with each other (with the flexibility to adjust as the experience begins). In a sense, you are setting the workplace culture as a group and can hold each other accountable to the guidelines you all set together.
Additionally, you can share with one another what you believe are your strengths to contribute to the group, along with the skills you hope to develop. It’s important to clearly communicate with your group what you bring to the project in order to create a successful team dynamic.
Know your supports and your rights during a work experience
Going into any experience, it’s good practice to know the supports available to you during your experience. Whether it’s to chat with someone about certain challenges or how to approach a problem, or to seek guidance on approaching work-related tasks, or if you need support navigating a difficult scenario, it’s good to be aware of and know the supports available to you and who you can trust to open up to. Your supports can be:
- Peers, such as colleagues, classmates, friends
- Mentors, such as your course instructors or other professors, industry professionals, folks within your community, or campus staff
- Your existing network from previous experiences (if applicable)
- Resources available to you, all of which are outlined in CareerHub
However, not everyone has equal access to supports or may have a limited support network. If you’re seeking a network of support beyond the resources shared above, you can use the networking tips in the following section to connect with your peers or mentors in your field/community. While networking can be intimidating, know that you can start at a level that’s comfortable for you, such as talking to your peers in your class and the larger university community. Additionally, if you do have that network of support but notice some colleagues who do not, offer your support or introduce your colleague to those in your support network. Networking is all about reciprocity!
Additionally, it is important to be aware of your rights in the workplace. While a WIL experience in a course can differ from a traditional workplace experience, you can still use CareerHub’s resources on Safety and your rights at work to be informed and discuss with your instructor if issues arise.
Altogether, knowing the employer, the expectations of your role/project, and your supports will support you in easing into the WIL experience and can make it easier to intentionally plan your networking for your WIL experience.