Students received great advice on how to build their connections in New Zealand from six industry guests at last night’s BizTech Meetup: Connect for Success event.

Ariff Khalid from Environmental Resources Limited told attendees there were people all around them with their own personalities, skills, and life experiences to share.

“The main thing that you need to understand is that you are not on this earth alone.”

He encouraged them to connect and engage with others outside of their usual circles.

Personal development coach Ciao Chen said people should know themselves and what they want to achieve when networking

“What’s your strength, what’s your weakness, what are your core values?”

She encouraged them to join professional bodies and associations in line with their study.

Andrey Polyakov from Woodlore advised students to get to know their lecturers, get the most from their studies, and attend workshops and talks.

They should also learn the intonations of the English language and pay attention to body language.

Maria Pooley from Sunwave Company said students should talk to people and keep connecting.

She said first impressions are important and people should be well prepared and positive.

Most importantly, when networking, they should offer opportunities to others and not just look at what they can gain.

Shailan Patel from MYOB gave tips about how to prepare for networking events. Students should research the speakers and think about what they want to ask them.

They might also think about targets or goals for the night, such as who they wanted to talk to, and plan some icebreakers.

Special guest entrepreneur and TV personality Iyia Liu talked about how she built up her successful businesses.

She said she took every opportunity that came her way when she was starting out, including interning and working for free. She's glad she did because you never know which person you'll meet through which opportunity.

She advised students to attend networking events, join Facebook groups, and put themselves in situations where they can connect.

Check out the photos here. See what others learned from the event here.