5 Places for a Fresh Grad to Start a Business Network
By Marion Marking

Marion Marking is editor in chief at China Business – Philippines, a monthly magazine available at National Bookstore, Powerbooks, Fully Booked, Bibliarch, leading newsstands nationwide, online via http://ChinaBusinessPhilippines.com ,and to clients of leading hotels and upscale coffee houses in the metro. She can be reached at editor@fairnewsmedia.com.

Whether establishing a business network is among your immediate plans or not, know one thing: How you advance in your chosen career (read: work quality and paycheck) will mostly depend on whom you know. And for careers in sales and marketing, a business network is simply indispensable.

Unless you were a working student, when you're fresh out of college your business network is generally limited to friends of your siblings or parents. If you had the foresight to join an organization like, say, the Junior Marketing Association (heavily supported by the widest, most reputable national marketing association, the Philippine Marketing Association), then you could already have the beginnings of a wide and effective business network.

If, like me, college was a break from reality for you, you have to work double time to catch up with the rest of the world that probably has more business connections than a fresh grad.

Here are some places that can give you a leg up in terms of business networks.

1. Alumni Associations. Being at the forefront of alumni projects can get you noticed by people more predisposed to hiring you, simply because you share an alma mater. The world is full of such biases so you may as well use the ones going for you—because there surely are more going against!
2. Church Groups. Before you think me mercenary, let me just say that I don't think anyone reading this joined their church group to make business contacts. If you did, you're going to hell. Just kidding. The reality is your best business contacts will often come from your social contacts, and the church is no exception.
3. Business-cum-cause-oriented Groups. The Jaycees are one such group. Off the cuff I can think of a handful like Habitat for Humanity, PAWS, Haribon Foundation, and a few more that are just a Google search away. Do this not only for your business or social network, but also for a sense that you're doing something with your life that doesn't depend on your (as yet non-existent) paycheck. And don't get intimidated if most members are older than you. After all, very few fresh grads are hired by their peers.
4. Trade Exhibits. It always makes good sense to position yourself as a big fish in a small pond, rather than the other way around. I don't know about you, but rather than the obvious choice of attending a job fair (which you should also visit just so all your bases are covered), a trade exhibit makes more sense. Trade shows organized by professional firms, such as Global Link or Tradecon, are good ways to meet business contacts from a specific industry. And the price of admission ranges from as low as zero to fifty pesos. [TIP: Do NOT just foist your résumé on the person manning the booth! Strike up a conversation by saying things like “How is business doing?” or “I'm thinking of a career in the building industry. I'm not an engineer or architect, but what are the opportunities like?”] One good thing about trade shows, the people manning booths LOVE to talk to anyone—even passersby who aren't potential clients, like you!
5. Weekend Sports Groups. Some people meet on weekends to throw Frisbees at each other. Others go trekking or biking and then get themselves so hungry, they also pig out together. (Some sport!) Whatever is least offensive to your vegging-out-PlayStation-DVD-obsessing lifestyle, well, just do it. Even if you don't boost your business network, a regular weekend activity can release the endorphins—and other happy hormones—you need to knock you out of your sedentary-still-don't-have-a-job-after-6-months stupor. At the very least, “Ultimate Frisbee enthusiast” looks better on your résumé than “Spent the summer finishing a Grey's Anatomy multi-season marathon...for the third time.”