Assignment:

Networkin - Hospitality Business Alum (preferred) or Industry Professional. Your completed assignmen should be a minimum of 2 pages.

• Contact one Hospitality Industry Professional with a question regarding your Career Exploration Project

(CEP). You must ask your question AND receive an answer to earn points for this assignment.

o Email, phone conversations, or in-person conversations are acceptable. The earlier you contact an individual, the more likely it is that you will receive a response.

o Regardless of the method by which you communicate you must provide a summary of your networking experience in writinq

• Your summary should include all of the following::
• who you contacted

o individual's name
o title
o company
o contact information (phone number including area code and/or email)

• why you selected this person

• your question

• the answer you received

• discuss the relevancy of your question/answer to your CEP

SUGGESTED NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES

• Current or past supervisors (internships or jobs)

• Local Hospitality Industry Professionals (Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center; University Club of Msu, local hotels, restaurants, country clubs, golf clubs, event planners, etc.))

• Hospitality Business Professionals you may know directly (or through someone else). These could be non-local, reached via email or phone.

• Hospitality Business Professionals who work in locations or organizations where you are interested in working in the future.

• The School of Hospitality Business faculty

• SIRC Ask our Alumni: Casual Conversations with Alumni.

NOTE: Current students (HB or other majors); family members; student supervisors do not qualify as network connections for this assignment.

NETWORKING TIPS

Remember these important points:

• Be professional and courteous.

o Introduce yourself as an HB major and student in HB 201: Hospitality Business Professional Development I
o Be sure to say you are contacting them as part of a class assignment.

- Give some context (i.e., what HB career you are interested in)

o Ask a question(s) relevant to your CEP
o Remember to say, "Thank you."

• If you email, be sure your email is well written (spelling, grammar, sentence structure).
• If you connect via phone, listen carefully, respect the other person's time.
• If you connect in person, dress appropriately (business causal, for example).