The 3 Bones of Networking for Student Success | Isaac Serwanga | TEDxCSUS

Main ideas, concepts, and lessons

• A personal turning point: The speaker reflects on graduating (June 4th, 2013) with mixed emotions—pride in academic success alongside concern about unemployment among graduates.
• Networking as a strategy for outcomes: After being given Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi, the speaker adopts networking and relationship-building, reporting that job/internship opportunities begin coming to them rather than being actively chased.
• Critique of education systems: This success leads to the question of why schools aren’t teaching networking as a key life/professional skill.
• Founding/teaching “Prophound Ivy” (as described): The speaker returns to his alma mater, creates a program (Profound Ivy), and spends about three years teaching networking principles to students.
• Observed results: Over 90% of students involved land their dream internship or dream job.
• Teaching younger students effectively: The speaker goes to Compton, California to teach networking to elementary/middle-aged students, using real examples (e.g., a student expressing a clear goal) to make networking understandable.
• Networking reframed: Networking is presented not only as a skill, but also as a mindset—“the currency of our age” in the 21st century.

Method / instruction: “The 3 Bones of Networking”

The speaker teaches networking through three “bones,” presented as simple yet often not practiced “common sense”:

1. Wishbone (Know what you want + who can help)

   • Core question: “What do you want, and who can help you attain that?”
   • Goal clarity matters: Students should know their dream/target so they can identify the relevant community/people.
   • Example used: Alejandro wants to become a lacrosse coach, and (the speaker notes) he understands he must connect with the lacrosse community to take the next step.

2. Jawbone (Competency + Humility)

   • Competency (research and readiness):
     • Before reaching out, do research on:
       • the industry
       • the company
       • the department
       • the position
       • and even the specific individual
     • Result: When you speak, people are more intrigued because you understand what they do and you sound informed.
   • Humility (be likable and help-centered):
     • Even if you “know everything,” people won’t help you if they don’t like you.
     • The speaker emphasizes a principle associated with Gary Vaynerchuk (Garyvee):
       • Relationships are often 50/50, but in networking aim to be 51:
         • Give slightly more.
         • For each outreach, consider:
           • “What are they looking for?”
           • “How can I help?”
     • This positions you to succeed by focusing on value and support.

3. Backbone (Persist / persist / persist)

   • Core rule: Networking requires repeated follow-through.
   • Illustrative story (the speaker becoming an author):
     • Wanting to become an author, he contacts 10 authors in the relevant area.
     • Only two respond:
       • One replies with generic encouragement (“good luck”).
       • Another, Adam, speaks with him for three hours, teaching marketing, publishing, and writing (chapter-by-chapter).
     • Adam’s advice: call after finishing chapter one.
   • Takeaway: Persistence turns outreach into meaningful mentorship and opportunity.

Speaker’s call-to-action / closing points

• Networking should be taught to young people similarly to academic fundamentals (math, reading, writing).
• Networking is described as:
  • a skill set
  • a mindset
  • and “the currency” of the 21st century.
• If you know young people, the recommended teaching framework is:
  • Wishbone: state what you want and identify who can help
  • Jawbone: competency (research) + humility (be helpful/likeable)
  • Backbone: persist

Speakers / sources featured (as mentioned in the subtitles)

Speakers

• Isaac Serwanga (the TEDx speaker)

Named sources / references

• Keith Ferrazzi — Never Eat Alone
• Gary Vaynerchuk (Garyvee) — associated principle about “51” in relationships (vs. 50/50)
• Adam — an author/mentor the speaker reached out to (first name only, personal story)
• Alejandro — student example used during the teaching story
• J.P. Morgan, NCAA, Princeton University — mentioned as example places the speaker’s opportunities came from (not as speakers)