How to Network at State

MJ Rousseau, Southwestern Area State Vice President

Hello FBLAerrs! My name is MJ Rousseau, and I am currently serving as the IL State Vice
President from the Southwestern Area. Today I want to give you all tips on how to network
at state. With our annual state leadership conference approaching in late March, many of
you will take advantage of our networking opportunities at the conference. The first thing to
discuss is: What is Networking? In my opinion, networking is the process of making
connections and relationships with others. Participating in FBLA, especially attending
conferences, is an excellent way to make connections with others. These are 5 tips that I
have to make the most of the networking opportunities at state.

​1) Visit the campaign booths.

Visiting the campaign booths is an excellent way to network with others. Conversing with
the candidates for state office not only allows your chapter’s voting delegates to make the
best decision for the office, but also allows you to gain valuable connections with fellow
members FBLA members throughout the state.

2) Keep an open mind.

When you have an open mind when it comes to who you could network with, your
possibilities become limitless! Some of the best people that I have met through FBLA have
been those different than me, so my advice is to keep an open mind when networking with
others.

3) Attend workshops.

Many of the amazing workshops hosted at the State Leadership Conference involve
networking and talking with other members as part of the activity. Attending one of these
workshops is an excellent way to network with many other members at once.

4) Learn how to introduce yourself

Learning a friendly but effective way to introduce yourself will do wonders for you to
network with others. Coming up with a friendly way to introduce yourself and some things
about yourself will get the conversation going and also be a great jumping-off point for
future conversations.

5) Have a warm smile and be engaged

Being friendly and easy to talk to is essential to coming off as warm and approachable,
which is the thing that allows people to warm up to you in the first place. Being engaged is
the next step. Showing that you care about what other FBLA members are talking to you
about and asking insightful questions will help show others that you truly care about this
connection and are interested in learning more about them and their ideas.

Thank you so much for reading Illinois FBLA! I am so excited to see you all at this year's State Leadership Conference! Cant wait till then!