Networking help!

Hi all,

I am from the place (non-US, Europe) where networking for college students is very rare (not considering nepotism). However, in this forum I saw that networking is one of the most important parts of the deal. I am still freshman but I want to learn how to network properly. My communication skills are not bad but in general, the process of networking seems very unclear for me.

Let's imagine that I want to get an internship in firm X. With the help of Linkedin I found the profile of HR, 2 other employees + 1 alumni. What should I do now? As far as I understood from WSO forum, I should cold mail them by keeping it short and try to arrange a call. Let's imagine that one of them answered to me. Then, what should I say? As far as I know, I will say this firm is very interesting (of course I will do my homework about the firm), ask some questions about that employee's journey. Then, I will mention that I am interested in applying to that firm. What does happen next? That employee will say let me refer your CV? Probably, that person will say go to the official website and complete an application forum. This last part of networking still remains unclear for me.

I would appreciate all the feedback/advice/comment about the networking. Please someone explain me how this process works.