Networking for College Students and Grads: Top 7 Steps You Can Take Now
You're a college student trying to find that perfect internship. Your graduation day is coming faster and your job search has not resulted in anything but frustration. You go on Facebook, "like" a few pages, and then you think about spamming all of your college friends for two weeks straight until something happens (right?).
But what if you didn't have to go through all of that stress? What if I told you there were professional social networks designed specifically for college students? On these websites, employers review resumes online five seconds after posting them. Employers and recruiters are swarming the website, doing everything they can to find the perfect candidate.
These professional social networks are not advertised on campus and not everyone knows about them. Most people don't know how to apply to these sites, let alone which ones would actually help their search. I am going to introduce you to three of the best websites to find internships and make connections that will turn into jobs after graduation.
If you are a college student or recent graduate looking for a job, these tips will help you find an internship faster than using every other method combined:
1) Social Media Networking : If you have ever done any networking in your life, this is basically the same thing. Social media networking simply means using your networks to find an internship. Sounds easy until you realize that these networks consist of at least 500 people (when you're in college). You'll have to reach out to them, tell them about your goals, see if they know anyone who can help and trust me, you will end up spamming some of them.
2) Apply : This should sound obvious but the hardest part about applying for internships when you are a college student is knowing which applications are legitimate and where to put the effort into applying. Once again, we turn back to social networking for help. Look through your Facebook friends and see if anyone has connections at any of the big name companies (Apple, Google, Intel, Microsoft). If they do, ask your friend to put in a good word for you (they'll be more than happy to help). If there is no one on Facebook that can help, don't get discouraged. This is the moment where you have to face the real world and start putting yourself out there.
3) Go To Events : Another thing college students do not like to do is leave campus. It's always easier to just stay in your dorm, watch Netflix and eat junk food while you scroll through LinkedIn profile after LinkedIn profile of people who are way ahead of you in their careers. That is not going to help you find a job.
4) Submit Resumes : Submitting resumes online can be next to impossible for college students and recent grads because employers usually want to see work experience. Recruiters get dozens of applicants for each internship opening, so if you haven't been working yet, it will be hard to show that you have experience in the field. The key is to make sure your resume stands out from the rest in terms of quality and content. Make it very easy for the employer or recruiter to find you online, by adding links and your LinkedIn profile at the bottom of every page on your resume.
5) Get a Job : This might be the most important thing you can do. If you want to get an internship, you must have a job. Then when your internship is over, you will have an actual experience on your resume. The worst thing to put on a resume is "worked for free for my uncle's company" or "Volunteered for Big Brothers Big Sisters." A paid, full-time position during the summer allows employers to know that you will be able to handle yourself as an employee, thus making them more willing to hire you as an intern.
6) Network : Keep networking with your Facebook friends and make connections at companies you want to work for. Employers use social media to find potential hires all the time. If you are connected to a person of interest on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter, it will be much easier for that person to find you and check out your resume.
7) Take Classes : By taking classes outside of your major, you become a more well-rounded student and can use this experience to apply for internships. It's very easy when you are in college to feel that there is no need to take classes outside of your major or minor because everything takes place on campus (and dorms). If you are taking a computer programming class, take some other programming classes so that it will show on your resume.
The truth is that you should take everything in college to make yourself look as good as possible. If you are spending all of your time on campus only for an internship, chances are a lot of companies won't even bother to look at your resume because they don't want to invest the money and resources into searching for interns that don't have any work experience.
Overall these tips combined with hard work will get you an internship without having too much stress. Still feeling overwhelmed? Look into getting an internship coach from a company like Summer Job Search . They have the experience they need to help you find an internship, even if you don't.
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Michaela Wiszniak is a recent graduate of Loyola Marymount University, where she published three books as a member of the Bronco Writers Collective. She hopes to one day make it a career writing freelance copy for websites. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
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Conclusion
This should be your guide to finding a summer internship. The first step is figuring out which colleges have a good program. If there is one that you are interested in, then check out the resources and go apply to internships at those schools. The main objective of this article was to help people find the right school for them and hopefully lead people down the path to a great internship, graduating college debt free (in this terrible economy) and ever elusive college degree.