A Resume won’t cut it! Smart ways to land your dream job (internship)

Not only is the job marketplace getting competitive, the system of getting one has changed. And if you are not in line with the current system of getting yourself out there, having a stellar resume and good grades just won’t cut it. Even having a great experience will become fruitless if you’re not taking the right routes for a new job or internship.

Following are two of the best ways to land a dream job or internship that you’ve always wanted.

Linked-In

By now, you should know about LinkedIn. If you are not aware of it, you’re in danger. If you are aware of it and haven’t used it yet to your advantage, you’re missing out big time.

Why is LinkedIn so important? Well, it’s the new Resume. Who would want to go through a pile of papers and read about your experience when employers can just google you and see your LinkedIn profile.

To use LinkedIn to your advantage, apply the following steps:

Step 1: TRANSFER your paper Resume to LinkedIn.

Create an account (if you haven’t already) and put in your current title, past experiences, education, awards and achievements and any other information you’d like the public to see. As you would on a resume, read it three times, have your friends and family read it as well to make sure everything looks not good, but great!

Step 2: Upload your BEST personal photo.

By best, we don’t mean it must be professional. Your photo depends on your industry. If you want a career in finance and accounting for example, a professional photo would be necessary. If you are into the fashion industry, a more casual look might do it. Either way, have a high resolution picture that you think is best. Go and have a photo taken if necessary; be very serious on this step as this is what every person FIRST sees before they read about you.

Step 3: CONNECT

Connecting on LinkedIn is different from Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. You need to know the person either through going to same school, work, or have their email in order to be in their network. However, the great thing about LinkedIn is that if you have a friend that is connected with you, everyone in their network is your “second degree” connection and you’ll be able to connect with them. Cool huh?

So to start with, sync all your emails on LinkedIn and invite everyone in your email list to connect with you. This is not Facebook so DO NOT be afraid or feel awkward to add your classmates or old work buddies. That’s how LinkedIn rolls.

Step 4: DOMINATE (The most important step)

You might have already done the above steps already, but this is the stage most fail. Having done the above and not being proactive is like having a great Facebook profile and not posting status updates on your timeline. CREATE ATTENTION.

Join groups in your industry by searching for them. Get involved in discussions in those groups. This is not our recommendation; it’s  a MUST. You will not get noticed otherwise. LinkedIn even allows you to create forum discussions, ask questions to the groups you’re in to make the discussions engaging.

You should also start contacting the HR personnel in the companies you want to work in even if you’re not looking to get the internship / job right now. LinkedIn has an option to get you introduced if the recruiters are a second degree connection. If that’s not the case, you can simply get their name and call the corporate office and ask for them by name. You can then proceed with asking questions about job opportunities and internships at the company. Most recruiters are very receptive when you mention “I found you on LinkedIn”. They’ll respect that you took the time to learn who does what in their company.

So what are your thoughts on LinkedIn? Share your experiences and additional helpful tips on the comments section below.

Part II will be on Twitter --- Tune in Next Week

1 Comment

andrea

April 18, 2013

If that’s not the case, you can simply get their name and call the corporate office and ask for them by name. You can then proceed with asking questions about job opportunities and internships at the company.

So after all the big todo about social media, we fall back to actual networking….. plus ca change plus c’est la meme chose

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