Networking can pay off when you need a job

Most students who job shadow a professional reporter or copy editor - a requirement of the beat reporting class - come back with a better sense of what the career is really like. But they also have a chance to network with reporters and editors, who can be valuable contacts as they search for internships or jobs. The key is using those resources by staying in touch. Free Press copy editor and blogger Oneita Jackson was not a journalism major when she went to Howard University. And as someone who graduated at 32, she learned the hard way to take advantage of the resources - from professors to classroom speakers - the university setting offers. You'll find that most professionals, as Oneita suggests, are willing to mentor or lend a hand to students who want to succeed as journalists. Are you taking advantage of the networking opportunities you've had this year? Have you followed up with any of the speakers you've had in your classes?