Building a Bigger Table: Networking 101 For Graduate Students

Although the importance of networking is often emphasized to graduate students, straightforward guidance on how to approach this task is typically reliant on individual advisors both knowing and demystifying the discipline's hidden and informal practices. This article provides concrete, point-by-point tips for both graduate students and their supporters, building on our experiences creating an online communication forum for early-career scholars on the market. Specifically, we suggest a model of community networking focused on robust, cross-rank engagement along dimensions of similar experiences and similar interests. Community networking aims to move beyond individuals angling to get a seat at the table and instead builds a bigger, more inclusive table. While junior scholars must primarily focus on their research rather than expansive service commitments, community networking is ultimately both a service to the discipline and a fruitful strategy for raising one's profile and finding coauthors, colleagues, friends, and allies.