Job hunt: Getting help from professors
There is a general rule when it comes to soliciting help from professors: never ask for specific favors. Instead, ask only for their advice.
Say you are looking to get into Nike, in their marketing department. You know that your Marketing professor did some high-level consulting for Nike, and that she could probably put you in contact with the head of that department. The wrong thing to do is to approach her and say, “I would like to work for Nike. Could you possibly help me get a meeting with their Marketing Director?” Not only is it fairly presumptuous to ask for something she hasn’t offered you, it also puts her in a slightly uncomfortable position if she is not willing to share her contact (which is certainly a possibility, as you may well be the fifth student asking her this week).
Instead, what you should do is to catch her after class and say, “I am looking to get into sports marketing for my summer internship, but I am not sure where to start. Could you spare fifteen minutes at some point to advice me on how to approach it?” Your chance of getting a positive answer to this is fairly good. Many professors have a genuine interest in helping their students, providing it doesn’t place too strenuous demands on their time. And as with most other people, professors like to be regarded as someone that others come to for advice.
Then, when you get your 15 minutes with the professor, the same rule applies: don’t ask for specific favors. Instead, simply tell her what type of job you are hoping to find, and what you are passionate about. And then ask her, “Do you have any advice on what I should do, or anyone I could talk to about this?”
At this point, one out of two things normally happen. If she judges you to be both capable and a good fit with Nike, she may voluntarily offer to put you in contact with them. This is most likely to happen if she knows you from the class and considers you a strong student, so it can often pay off to start with the professors who you think have a good impression of you. On the other hand, if she isn’t comfortable sharing her contact, she will at least give you some more general advice, perhaps suggesting other places you could search or other people you could talk to.
This oblique approach may seem slightly roundabout to you, especially if you come from a culture or a working environment where frankness is the general rule. But remember that business schools are rarely homogenous; professors may have very different norms for what is and isn’t acceptable. Asking only for their advice is polite, professional, and minimally imposing, and it gives the professor the freedom to decide how much she wants to help you.
And, no matter the outcome, remember the following: professors may be paid to teach you, but they are under no obligation whatsoever to share their professonal network with you, or to spend their spare time as your career coach. If and when they choose to do so, don’t forget to say thank you.
