guide to using linkedin for your internship search

Guide to Using LinkedIn for Your InternshipSearch

In the last several years, LinkedIn[1] has become an increasingly popular way tofind employment and network with people in your industry. More and moreemployers are using LinkedIn as a recruitment tool, and students andprofessionals are also using it as a job search tool and career booster. Take a lookat our section-by-section LinkedIn guide for tips on getting the most out of LinkedInwhile avoiding some common mistakes.

1. Your ProfileAfter creating your account, the first thing to do is build you profile, which isessentially your online resume and how you present yourself to the rest of theusers on the site. Create a clear, accurate profile.Make sure you fill out every section.Upload a photo (Make sure it is professional and appropriate!) Include your profile in your email signature. This way people you are in contactwith can see your LinkedIn profile and add you as a connection as youcommunicate with them.Professional headline

This is very important! Make sure it is accurate and specific since this ishow people see you all over the site. If you are a student at a university,dont just say that. For example, describing yourself as a Student at XYZUniversity or Assistant at ABC, Inc. is not as meaningful to potentialemployers as Internship-seeking Master of Architecture student, orMarketing Assistant, Global Projects Division at ABC Inc.

Make your profile privacy settings public. This means:You will appear in searches more frequently.You need to keep your profile appropriate, accurate, and updated since theentire network on LinkedIn can see it.

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Provide details about your education and professional experience completelyand concisely.

Make sure to include details about the position you held, such asresponsibilities and accomplishments, not just your job title.

2. Contacts/ConnectionsAdd other LinkedIn members as connections by clicking connect next to theirnames or on their profile pages.If youre new to LinkedIn, make sure you add people you know already to buildup your connections. These can be friends, colleagues, classmates, formerbosses or co-workers.

Under the Contacts dropdown, select Add Connections. From this pageyou can import your email contacts. If you have business cards from people you have met, search for and addthem, too.

Use the People you may know feature. This tool is very handy! It suggests people you may have come into contactwith based on your jobs, schools, people you have emailed with, friends offriends, etc. If you see the profile of someone you know or that person contacts youthrough Linkedin, invite them to connect and start a conversation! Once youare connected, youll be able to see other people with whom they may beconnected. Do any of these people work at a company with which youwould want to do an internship? They could make an introduction and putyou in touch with that person!

Search through your connections and see where they are working toinvestigate potential employers.

Do any of these companies seem like places you would want to do aninternship? Contact someone at the company or email your currentconnection and see if you can get an introduction.

When adding connections, make sure to personalize them. LinkedIn will give you a generic Request to Connect as text for theinvitation. Its always better to put a personal touch in this message since itwill be more meaningful to the potential connection. It will also help the


person to remember you. An example might be Hi Mr. Smith, Its been along time since we worked on XYZ project together at ABC Company. Hopeyou are doing well!

Always respond to messages and invitations in a timely manner.You will only get out of LinkedIn what you put into it. If you want to get themost out of it as a networking tool, you need to check your homepage/newsregularly and interact with your connections. If you dont respond tosomeone, you cant expect him or her to help you. The key is to leave apositive impression. However, you dont need to accept every invitation youreceive. If you dont know someone at all or if it appears they could bespamming (very few connections or only using LinkedIn for promotionalpurposes), it is perfectly acceptable to reject or ignore a request.

Dont be afraid to keep a conversation going or ask for an introduction.The more you develop a relationship with a connection, the easier andmore likely it is for them to remember you in the future and want to offertheir knowledge or network to you.

3. GroupsJoin groups that are of professional interest to you so you can begin to see andconnect with others with similar career fields.

These can be university alumni groups, clubs or associations, industry-specific groups, etc. Most importantly, join groups that will allow you toconnect with people working in your desired field or industry.

Do not confuse groups with companies.All companies/businesses are found on the company page, which will beexplained in the next section. Groups could be affiliated with the company,but are separate. Pay careful attention this!Example: InterExchange Career Training USA has several groups to join(one for alumni, employers, etc.) but we also have a company page thatyou can follow or where you can view information or openings.

Some groups require authentication before approvalKeep in mind that after you request to join a group, they may need toauthenticate you. In other words, they want to ensure that the group is right


for you. For example, InterExchange authenticates those who request tojoin the Alumni Group, to verify that the person requesting to join actuallyparticipated in our program.Many groups, though, are open to anyone!

Monitor group activityWhat are people talking about? What are the buzzwords and hot topics inyour chosen field/industry? Do you have anything to contribute?

Add to discussions Feel free to add a comment or generate a discussion of your own if youhave something relevant to say, especially if you can provide helpfulinsights to others in your network. Make sure not to post things that are onlyrelevant to you and dont contribute to the dialogue, such as Can anyoneget me a job here? To be a successful networker, you need to have arelationship with a person before you inquire about opportunities.

Make connectionsConnect with people who are discussing topics that are related to yourfield/industry. Do any of these people work at companies where you wouldwant to pursue an internship position?

Build relationships with the new connectionsDont just invite them to connectreally reach out to them and try tonetwork. They may have valuable information about the industry or you mayhave things in common. Do you know any of the same people?

4. CompaniesMany companies will create a company page on LinkedIn to representthemselves and build their online presence.

The company page is similar to the brand page on Facebook, where acompany has its own page and generates activity and discussions.

This page allows you to see basic information about the company and peoplewho you may know that currently work there. You can also view any internshipopenings that the company may have posted.You should absolutely follow companies you are interested in so you can see


updates about them. If you get an interview with one of these companies, youwill have less research to do later since you will have learned all of thisinformation already.

You can find these updates on the company page or on your homepagewhere you see updates about your connections.

You can also invite people at this company to connect and include a message.Even if they are not the right person to be speaking with about internshipopenings, they can probably tell you whom you should contact or even put youdirectly in touch with that person.

5. RecommendationsThis feature is relatively new and a great way for your references to let otherLinkedIn users know about you.

Ask for recommendations or endorsements from colleagues, formerprofessors or supervisors.

Give recommendations to otherswhat goes around, comes around! It willalso get your name out on other users profiles as well.

6. ResearchUse LinkedIn to find out information about people before you meet them orhave an interview with them.

This is a helpful tool! If you know ahead of time who you will be meeting ata company, its good to have some background information about themahead of time. Just be careful not to make it obvious during the interviewthat you know specific details about them, or they may feel uncomfortable.

Use Company Pages (see section 4 above) to see who of your connectionsworks at a particular company, if you have any connections in common withsomeone who works there, or if anyone is in your extended network.

7. NetworkLinkedIn is a networking toolso dont be afraid to use it as such.


You are supposed to connect with people you dont know and build up arelationship. Reach out to people who may be able to assist you in yourinternship search. Even if they cant assist you, they may know someonewho can!

Strike up a conversation with someone in one of your groups. What do you both have in common? Maybe you know some of the samepeople or attended the same university. Perhaps they previously workedsomewhere you would like to train (check their profile!) and can put you intouch with the right person there.

Ask questions!People love to talk about themselves. When you invite someone to connect,ask them something! It can be anything from how they got involved in thefield or a question about a specific aspect of their profile, such as a previousjob or particular project. Find the links between you and the other personto generate a discussion. The idea is that they may also ask about you, too!This way you share your background and career interests with them.

Dont get discouraged stay positive.Dont be offended if someone doesnt accept your invitation to connect,doesnt respond to a message or doesnt ask a question about you inreturn. People use LinkedIn differentlysome check it everyday and othersuse it sporadically. If you dont hear back from someone, just work with theconnections you do have.

Use your access to a wider pool of connectionsIts important to keep in mind that once you connect with someone, you aregetting access to more and more potential connections, so make use ofthis. When you click on the profile of someone to which you are notconnected, you can see if you have any connections in common as well asthe degrees of separation between that person and your connections.Hopefully if one of your connections cant assist you, maybe one of yourconnections connections can.

What goes around comes around!LinkedIn should be mutually beneficial. If someone helps you out or putsyou in touch with someone, thank him or her! Likewise, if they ask a favor ofyou or even send you a message, respond to them promptly and/or return


the favor. Even if they cant help you at this time, you should still beresponsive and courteous to all of your connections because you neverknow when that fact could change.

8. News & UpdatesStay on top of the news in your industry!

Monitor companies to see whats new with them or if they have posted anynew positions.

Check your feed regularly This will show you who has been promoted, changed jobs, etc., whichmeans they may now be working for a company or in a field that interestsyou.

Reach out to connections with relevant news You can share an industry-related article that you find interesting to let yourconnection know you thought of them or you can congratulate them on apromotion. Fostering these networking relationships is crucial not only soyou can learn from each other but also to aid in your internship search andfuture career development!

Now that you have a general understanding of LinkedIn and its various sectionsand networking functions, you should be able to get started in using it as aninternship search tool. While taking advantage of LinkedIn, make sure that youavoid some common mistakes users make below.

DONTUse incorrect grammar or have spelling mistakes or typos

We cannot emphasize this enough. Nothing looks worse than this to apotential host employer.

Have an inappropriate pictureYour profile picture should have you in it, and only you, wearing somethingappropriate. You can smile, but dont overdo any expressions or poses. Itshould be simple and professional.


http://www.linkedin.com/1.

Post unprofessional content LinkedIn is NOT the place to post any controversial articles or personalwritings, such as blogs or photo albums. This also goes for any commentsin groups.

Wait for people to come to youThe more you put into LinkedIn, the more you will get out of it. Its a place tobe proactive! Dont be afraid to invite people to connect on LinkedIn afteryou meet them in person or through some other channel. Its a great way tofollow up, keep in touch, and build up your network.

Keep your automatically-assigned, numerical URLYou can customize this by viewing your profile and clicking Edit next to theURL below your photo. Try and get something as close to your first and lastname as possible, avoiding nicknames/usernames. Example:LinkedIn.com/in/johnsmith is better than LinkedIn.com/in/u9834dfkjhet4especially if you will use it in your email signature.

Leave sections blankIf you have your university listed, but not your skills, or your formerpositions but not what you did in them, it looks like you either dont haveany skills or accomplishments or you couldnt take the time to completeyour profile. Neither are things you want a potential employer to think ofyou! Put care and effort into completing your profile as completely aspossible.

Share private information about your companySPAM your network with unwanted information

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