Building your personal and professional grad school networks

Graduate school can sometimes be isolating. There’s a lot of reading. You will find yourself spending plenty of “quiet” time processing new ideas, testing hypothesises and writing papers. How do you find the time and the tools to build your personal and professional support networks?

Graduate school can be a great place to build these networks and make connections with other student, faculty, and professionals in your field and beyond. 

Professional support networks

Start by reflecting on what kind of professional network you would like to develop in your time in graduate school. Consider the following suggestions for building a network of meaningful professional relationships:

• Your supervisor or program advisor is often your first point of contact on joining graduate school. It is a good idea to take steps to build and maintain a positive connection with this person throughout your time in your program. They are often the foundation stone in your graduate school professional network – helping you identify and even be introduced to other leaders in your field. You can also check out the GradProSkills workshop on building an effective relationship with your supervisor. Just remember: this is a professional relationship, not a personal friendship!
• You will meet other faculty members through your classes, and maybe have the opportunity to work with them as a teaching or research assistant. This can be a great opportunity to get more perspectives on your field. Again, treat these relationships as professional ones only!
• Your peers and graduate student colleagues are a key part to building your professional network. Your program, department, student groups, studio or lab may have its own Facebook, Teams or Instagram page. Make sure you sign-up to these groups, and check them regularly – group outings are often planned on these types of social media pages.
• Joining events and conferences is one of the best ways to build your professional networks. Check out Concordia’s events like the Thesis Boost Writing Retreat, the 3MT/MT180 competition, and 4^th Space. Go to workshops to help boost your professional skills and meet other students outside of your program. Consider joining a professional associations in your field, maybe even attend their conferences. For such conferences, graduate students can apply for financial support from the School of Graduate Studies’ conference and exhibition awards.

Personal support networks

Making time to nurture your personal connections is just as important. Consider these suggestions for developing and strengthening your personal support system:

• Make time to keep up with your friends and family outside of your graduate program. Even if you are only checking in for a few minutes at a time, it can be a great way to remember there’s more to life than work!
• Remote work groups became a key way to stay in touch with others during the pandemic. While we hope to be able to do a lot more in-person co-working, online co-working groups are here to stay. Reach out to other students in your program about a weekly or bi-weekly co-working group. (Yes, this is both personal and professional networking!) GradProSkills runs Meet & Write, a drop-in weekly co-writing group, on Wednesday mornings.
• Don’t know anyone in town? There are lots of events going on to help you connect with other students. Don’t feel shy about showing up to events alone! Get to know other students by joining the following groups:
  • If you are in your first year, you can join the New Concordians 2021-2022 Facebook group.
  • You can also drop into Grad Chat sessions (every Friday at 11am), CU Wellness, or the International Student Office events. These are great ways to take a break from the busy schedule of graduate school, while meeting with other students who can connect with what you are going through.
  • Follow the Graduate Students’ Association (GSA) to find out what they have planned for this fall. Your department also has its own student association – look for the email that will invite you to an event this fall!
• Enjoy Montreal! Plan outdoor activities with your classmates or lab mates to explore some of the city’s parks and streets. With some activities still taking place remotely, a check-in with new friends can help catch you up on casual conversations that would usually happen in the hallway.