How to avoid awkward networking interactions...

So a few months ago I decided to go all-in on IB recruitment. I am a sophomore at a "semi-target" and I had some upperclassmen mentors of mine suggest I recruit for IB roles given this is the best time. I'm in the networking phase of the process, but I'm starting to realize my networking efforts have been quite lackluster. Last week I was doing a networking call and I completely dropped the ball when an associate asked me about my interest in the industry. I ended up rambling about how I "really love Excel" and watch a lot of financial news– I literally mentioned my Bloomberg terminal subscription twice in 5 minutes...I find these blunders happening frequently however.

The worst part is I've done like 15+ coffee chats, and I still can't seem to have a normal conversation like I would with a friend. I get so nervous that I either talk way too much about random details from their LinkedIn profile or just sit there nodding while barely saying anything. Does anyone else struggle with this, or am I just uniquely bad at this? Any tips of how to network effectively? What are some good questions to ask? Thanks!!

3 Comments
 

I mean if you can't network effectively / naturally, then you probably won't excel at the job anyway...but it usually helps to have a list of questions as a fallback in case the conversation hits a dead end

 

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