With graduation coming up for Whitworth’s seniors, and with other students looking for summer jobs and future internships, networking has become a very important aspect to life both during and after college. Here are three reasons why you should connect with everyone from your favorite professors to that guest lecturer from Connecticut.

Communication skills: Millennials are often criticized for lack of communication skills, especially verbal ones. Whitworthians already have an advantage by coming from a liberal arts education, where there are oral and written communication requirements. But if you can communicate and connect with someone you can rely on as a reference or a source, you’re not only gaining a valuable resource when you’re trying to find a job, but also picking up skills in learning how to communicate with other professionals.

Connect with peers and promote collaboration: What’s the skill every employer wants, right after communication skills? The ability to work in a team dynamic. Networking isn’t only for you to gain that reference, but learning how to work with someone to benefit each other and reach a common goal. As much as you may hate group projects, they’re a reality for a good majority of jobs out there.

It’s isn’t about what you know, it’s who you know: getting a job in the economy today is a lot easier when you have a lot of connections. By networking early on, you have people you can talk to who can help you find a job, be a reference or even a resource for a future project.

Editorials in the “In the Loop” section reflect the majority opinion of the Editorial Board, comprised of five editors.