After the pandemic, the usage of virtual meetings skyrocketed. Platforms like Zoom and Google Meets became like household commodities in the academic and professional world, as they served as the connection between people during an age of social distancing. Even now, three years after the first lockdown, virtual meetings are still an integral part of daily life.

As someone who thrives off of in-person social interactions, I get nervous when meeting for academic and professional meetings on zoom, especially if it’s with important individuals in these areas. I’m always left thinking about how much better of an impression I would’ve given off or how much better I would’ve performed instead in person.

That is why– in efforts to improve my presentation skills online– I decided to take advantage of Handshake, an online platform widely used by Villanova students to not only connect with employers, but also to discover career development opportunities. On this website, I discovered the “VSB Rise to the Top: Virtual Presence Workshop - Networking & Interviewing” event hosted by the O’Donnell Center for Professional Development. I decided to attend because I wanted to create a strong virtual presence for myself and be able to navigate virtual interactions, such as networking and interviewing.

Katy Grady, the main speaker, shared several pieces of advice on how to improve our virtual presence. She started off by recommending we create a LinkedIn profile to network online by connecting with professionals, alumni, and employees to learn more about their career paths, industry, roles, and company. Doing so can help build our network and introduce us to learning opportunities that can refine our career interests. Grady also recommended an online resource unique to Villanova: NovaNetwork. This is Villanova’s professional network that allows students to connect with Villanovans in their city or industry of interest. NovaNetwork also allows students to filter search results by career level, place, industry, employer, student activity involvement, and more. While I have not utilized these platforms much as a freshman, I anticipate using them in the future to network as I start searching for internships, and after that, jobs.

Grady also provided us tips on how to take virtual networking a step further by initiating informational interviews. Through these interviews, the student would interview their individual of interest to learn more about topics such as their industry or occupation. Here are some of the steps she recommended:

• Reach out through LinkedIn, Nova Network, Social Media, etc.

• Prepare for the meeting: Research the company and the person

• Conduct the meeting: Ask questions and converse about your purpose for the meeting

• Follow up: Send a “thank you” email

These are just a few of the many valuable things I learned from the presentation. I highly recommend VSB students make the most of opportunities like these because they provide valuable knowledge and tangible advice that will ultimately lead to an improvement in career and professional skills that students can leverage in the job application process.