Building a network can sound scary or difficult, but it doesn't have to be. Part pep talk, part instruction manual, this workshop will demystify the process of developing and maintaining a professional network. Focusing on things like how to advocate for yourself and how to make unlikely connections your strongest ones yet, you'll walk away from this workshop with several new strategies tools to help you chart your career path. Moderated by an iSchool alumna who has used these techniques out in the field, this workshop will help you find the fun in networking.

Participants will learn:

• How to write an email that introduces oneself and establishes ongoing communication;
• How to nurture relationships once they have been established; 
• How to plan out a coffee/Zoom conversation and what structures work for these;
• How to back out of a networking relationship that you don't think will go anywhere without burning bridges.

Instructor: Samantha Summers, Advancement Coordinator, Toronto International Film Festival