Networking can be a powerful tool for advancing your career. Building your professional network creates opportunities to trade ideas with peers, marshall support when managing challenging scenarios and discover new job opportunities. Networking is valuable in any industry at any job level but can be especially beneficial for business leaders and administrators.
In today’s digital age, online tools can make networking much easier. Students in the University of Tennessee (UT), Knoxville Online Master of Business Administration (MBA) program at the Haslam College of Business enjoy various networking opportunities. This article explores how Haslam’s Online MBA facilitates networking to help students succeed in the program and after graduation.
Expand Your Professional Network
Connect to Success with UT’s Online MBA
Why Networking Matters in Top Online MBA Programs
Research shows that online education can be at least as engaging and interactive as in-person instruction, common misconceptions notwithstanding. Many online programs—including UT’s Online MBA—prioritize interaction among students, their peers and faculty members. This interaction can connect you to people worldwide, broadening your global network.
Networking potential is among the essential factors to consider when enrolling in an MBA program, whether traditional, online, or hybrid. Networking opportunities increase your potential to land a new job upon graduation—a key motivation for many students. Building your professional network can help you advance your career in several ways:
- Discovering job opportunities: Employers often fill jobs through word-of-mouth or referrals. A solid professional network can provide access to these opportunities.
- Generating referrals and recommendations: Having respected professionals vouch for your skills and performance can prove invaluable when applying for new jobs.
- Increasing your industry visibility: Networking enables you to showcase your expertise and achievements so you can build your reputation and recognition, leading to career advancement.
The Benefits of Building a Network in an Online Classroom
Online MBA programs offer specific networking opportunities that provide unique benefits. As an online MBA student, you will have access to:
- Diverse peer groups: Online programs generally attract diverse cohorts from across the country, enhancing networking potential as students will connect with people they might not otherwise meet.
- Knowledge exchange opportunities: Live online classes, group discussions, debates and group assignments allow students to build relationships with their peers, discover new perspectives, learn from others’ experiences and learn more about different career paths and functions.
- Industry experts: Many online programs, such as UT Knoxville’s Online MBA, are taught by the same faculty instructing on-campus programs. Due to their extensive industry experience, these faculty members often possess vast knowledge and valuable industry connections they share with students.
Forging Connections in the UT Online MBA Program
The UT Haslam Online MBA combines the flexibility of online learning—enabling you to earn your degree without relocating or putting your professional development on hold—with an in-person orientation on the UT Knoxville campus to facilitate cohort connections before your program starts. During the three-day interactive orientation, you will meet fellow students and professors, learn about the Online MBA curriculum, hear from current students, tour the campus and enjoy social outings.
As a UT Online MBA student, you will gain access to the Haslam College of Business’s robust network (over 18,000 Haslam alumni worldwide, according to LinkedIn) and a Volunteer network of all UT graduates that numbers over 275,000. Haslam Online MBA students can utilize the school’s exclusive career portal, where top employers like Amazon, Deloitte and FedEx list job opportunities and recruit students for internships and employment.
Online students can also attend Haslam and Global Supply Chain Institute-hosted events, like the Supply Chain Forum, to network with industry peers and potential employers. Other events include spring and fall summits, during which students across all cohorts connect, receive focused career support, network with alums, and attend professional development sessions. The March 2024 summit was entitled “Women in Business, Entrepreneurship, and Leadership.”
Learn what it means to be a Volunteer at UT
The opportunity to expand your professional network ranks high among the many benefits of attending any MBA program. Online study enables you to build lasting relationships and professional connections with a geographically and professionally diverse peer group.
UT Haslam’s Online MBA program offers students various networking opportunities. Students build their networks through an in-person orientation and subsequent live class discussions and group assignments. Online students also have access to career services and university events. They join the university’s extensive alumni network upon graduation.
If you want to grow your professional network, increase your earning power, and join a motivated community of Volunteers while enjoying the flexibility of online learning, consider enrolling in the UT Online MBA. To learn more about the program, connect with an enrollment advisor or attend a virtual event to hear firsthand from current students and faculty.