Assignment 3: Networking brief

Part 1: Personal networking objective.

My goals for networking this year is to have at least 15 conversations with people where I get their
contact information from. I will introduce myself and tell them what extra value I can be for them. This
will result in liabilities where I can rely on if there will occur an event where I need them. The
information will be easy accesible where I can search some sort of database (documents). I want to
reach this goal in the schoolyear of 2017-2018. I will add them to my LinkedIn profile as well.

Part 2: Elevator pitch

Hello. I am Thibault Vo and I am 23 years old. I live and study in Ghent. Currently I am in my second year
of International Business Management where we learn about doing business globally. I hope to achieve
my entrepreneurial dream. I love to work with people and learn from them. My biggest interest is the
sales department which I want to develop to the fullest. Because of my international study, I am not
afraid to talk English and work with other cultures. I would love to work in a start-up where I can
strengthen my entrepreneurial skills and become part of the team.

Part 3: LinkedIn profile

https://www.linkedin.com/in/thibault-vo/

It was my first experience with LinkedIn, I didn’t have a profile before. Everything was new for me. I
realize now that a good LinkedIn profile is important for later. Networking is and important factor in the
business world. First, I looked up friends on LinkedIn who are almost done studying. They are currently
looking for jobs, so their LinkedIn profiles are ready for the job market. I checked what they pinpointed
the most and tried to look for similarities. A good description about yourself is important so recruiters
can see what for person you are, what values you have and what you want to achieve. And lastly the
skills and endorsements need to fit to who you are, and don’t make a fuzz about it. Be fair and honest
because this will know you eventually.

Part 4: Facebook page

The first 2 pictures are screenshots of my Facebook profile. Though this is only available for friends of
me. There is a function to let you know how completely strangers see your FB page. I changed my
settings that everything is hidden. Like you see on the third picture. This is important for later if
people/recruiters do research on your profile. Now nobody is able to see ‘party pictures’ of me, only my
friends can.
This is my profile how my friends can see it. Pictures from activities I did over the semester like skitrip,
gathering with friends, etc.
Here you can see my profile like I am a stranger. There is no personal information you can find here.
Networking log
This is my networking log I made during the year. All new contacts will be added in the document. All
these connections below were made the 25th of November during the Go-Abroad Fair in Flanders Expo
Ghent.

Contacts
1. Jobstop

Name Evy Lameyse

Title Project Manager
Company Jobstop
Industry Travel agency
Phone number +32 (0)16 14 04 10
Email info@jobstop.be
Website www.jobstop.be
Address Herbert Hooverplein 17, 3000 Leuven

First introduction:

The 25th of November I went to the Go-Abroad Fair in Flanders Expo Ghent. The Go-Abroad Fair is the
biggest fair about studies-, internships-, work- abroad. My goal was to gather connections for my
internship in 2019. The first stand was from Jobstop. I introduced myself and explained what I am
studying. I was really interested in their services. She noted all my information and she will send me an
email to have follow-up contact. She has connections around the world, from Africa to Australia, so she
can be worth a great potential value for the future.
 2. StudyGroupEU

Name C. Vis
Title Director North America
Company StudyGroupEU
Industry International studies and internships
Phone number +31 (0)6 2151 4127
Email keesvis@studygroupeu.eu
Website www.studyNewZealand.eu
www.studyUnitedStated.eu
www.studyAustralie.eu
www.studyCanada.eu
Address P.O. Box 425 – 2260 AK Leidschendam – The
Netherlands

First introduction:

There was some publicity about internships on his stand, so I walked towards him and I introduced
myself. He was a very friendly man and he told me what the possibilities were. In studyGroupEU you can
have internships around the world. He told me that the most interesting were in Australia, with the
services of his company. They do everything for you. First, they screen and talk with you, so they are
informed about your interests. Afterwards they find the best spot in a company based on your needs
and capabilities. They look for housing too. Of course, there was a catch. The services of the screening
and searching for the internship were very expensive. He told me it was around 5000 dollars for the
service. So, you still have to pay for rent, flights, food, etc. I thanked him for the information and I told
him I will discuss it with my parents. I asked for his business card for follow-up contact.

At the end he said: “Thibault that’s French, and Vo that’s Vietnamese. Am I right?” I laughed and told
him he was 100% correct. This was the first time someone said this to me. We had some chit-chat after
and my journey continued to the next stand.
 3. Global Horizons USA

Name Kimberly Temp

Title European Representative
Company Global Horizons USA
Industry International studies
Phone number +49 173 7190590
Email k.temp@globalhorizons-usa.org
Website www.globalhorizons-usa.org
Address N.D.

First introduction:

One of my goals is to visit each continent (as soon as possible). I never been to North-America before,
but I will go to San Francisco in March for my study trip of IBM. If my visit satisfies me, there can occur a
chance that I will look for an internship in the US. This stand was formulated how a real American would
do it. American flags everywhere, the colors represented, catchphrases like: “Living the dream”, etc. I
knew I was on the right place if I needed some connections in the US. I walked towards her and
introduced myself. I received a folder with more information and her business card. I could always mail
her for follow-up information, but she kept distance. Of course, she continued to be friendly, but it
seemed very impersonal. (read: Stigma?)
 4. University of Pretoria

Name Sylvester Siboto

Title Assistent Direkteur
Company University of Pretoria – Nagraadse
Ondersteuning & Internasionale Kantoor
Industry University
Phone number +27 (0)12 420 2729
Email sylvester.siboto@up.ac.za
Website www.up.ac.za
Address Universiteit van Pretoria, Privaatsak X20
Hatfield 0028, Suid-Afrika
As I mentioned before, I want to visit each continent (as soon as possible). I had the chance to visit
Congo twice. Once in Lubumbashi and once in Kinshasa, these visits were the most beautiful and
interesting travels I have done. I felt in love with Africa, the nature, the culture and the people. So, I
hoped there would be a stand with an African background in the Go-Abroad fair. There was only one
from the Universiteit of Pretoria, South-Africa. I introduced myself with a big smile and he started
talking. He told me that it wasn’t possible to study in the University because they are still working on
relations with European schools. So, I asked him if there were any opportunities for internships. He said
there were, and we exchanged information. I did my persuasion task about Honeywell in South-Africa. I
had to do some research about the country and I am really interested finding a possibility to go there. I
will try to stay in touch with him for the future. He thanked me for my interest, and I thanked him for
the information.
 5. Formula electric Belgium

Name Wannes Vanheusden

Title Head of Marketing
Company Formula electric Belgium
Industry Sustainable engineering
Phone number +32(0) 497 849743
Email wannes.vanheusden@formulaelectric.be
Website www.formulaelectric.be
Address Diestsesteenweg 692 – 3010 Kessel-Lo

First introduction:

On the 23rd of October I went to the Global Science Technology & innovation conferences in Brussels. It
was the birthday of the United Nations together with conferences of technological solutions for SDGS.
An interesting event where the sustainable development goals, SDGS, were the main focus. I met
Wannes and we talked about the event and his company. He was the head of marketing in his company.
I told him what I was studying. He kept on talking about his sustainable projects and I listened. At the
end I asked him if he had any connections abroad because I am looking for an internship. He gave me his
business card and I had to send him an email with additional information. Once I will receive this
information of Artevelde, when exactly we must do our internship, I will contact him