Facebook: not just for fun anymore?

We all know that Facebook is great for friend feeds and keeping up with the latest cute kitten viral video.  But Mashable had a recent article about how to use Facebook to find great professional opportunities.  From simple tips about making sure you read your news feed to “liking” or “friending” companies you want to work for, to more complicated ones suggesting you get active in a relevant professional group or starting a dialogue in one of those groups, to fun ones such as competing in contests…there are plenty of ways to tap into the vast network of opportunities Facebook has to offer.

For more details, check out this article in Mashable to start using Facebook for fun and your professional future!

Social media search strategy

There are three main ways of finding out about internship and career opportunities:  online postings, word-of-mouth leads, and social media feeds.  Since Internships.com is the largest online internship database and prep site, you’ve got that covered.  Word of mouth is all about networking:  check out the regular columns on networking in this newsletter for tips and ideas.  But what about social media?

For many companies, social media is often a first stop when recruiting.  Why?  Think about it:  if opportunities are first posted on company employees’ facebook pages and Twitter feeds, candidates who hear about the opportunities will be somehow connected to the employees.  It’s basically another way to find candidates who have a word of mouth connection or care about the work of the company.  It can also weed out people who are just looking for any internship or job.

So how do you do use social media effectively?  Connect with companies you’re interested in on Twitter and Facebook.  For example, maybe you’re interested in marketing internships in sustainable food companies.  Let’s say you’ve narrowed it down to Zingerman’s mail order foods, SweetRiot chocolates, and Stumptown Coffee.  Connect with their Facebook and Twitter feeds ASAP.  Not only will you be the first to know when they post or tweet new opportunities, but you’ll also get to know the work they do better through their posts.  Obviously, you’ll need to make sure your Facebook profile and Twitter feeds are professional, but that should be true for any internship or job search!

So as you’re looking for your next internship opportunity, be sure to include social media as a key component of your strategy!

Don’t let your online identity spoil your chances of getting an internship

The New York Times (Sunday, Oct. 10) had a very timely article, warning job seekers to protect their online identities. To paraphrase this informative piece, you may have a great resume, outstanding references, and a successful interview, and still not get the offer, whether it’s for a job or an internship.  Why?  Well, remember that companies often view internships as tests for potential new employees, so establishing yourself as a reputable person who will add value to the company is important.  To supplement Dr. Woody’s recent post about online identities, here are our top 5 tips advised in the NYT article to help you protect yourself as you apply for internships:

1. Assume that you may be looked up on a search engine, so review the results of a quick search of your own name. If you find anything negative, do some damage control by entering a few positive items about yourself in hopes that the new entries will appear above the negative ones.
2. Review your Facebook page. A potential internship supervisor could become a friend of one of your friends and gain access to your page. According to the article, you don’t want anything on Facebook that you wouldn’t want your grandmother to see. Be careful about photos, too.  Drinking beer at a bachelor party may have been fun, but it could give some companies the wrong impression.
3. Understand that having absolutely no mention of yourself on online tends to be viewed with suspicion. If that’s the case, then create a professional identity on the Internet for yourself, utilizing Google profiles, LinkedIn and ZoomInfo to establish a positive presence for yourself.
4. Check your credit report for mistakes and develop a plausible explanation if your credit score is poor, which might be the case for many college students. And for government or security positions, you need to have a perfectly clean record in terms of character and behavior. If you’ve had any criminal charges, even if they occurred years ago and have been resolved or proven false, check the internet to make sure you have a clean slate.
5. Consider your internship target companies. If you’re looking for a highly competitive, paid internship that could lead to a permanent position with a Fortune 500 company, then you might want to double and even triple check any online data about yourself, including political interests, buying habits, and hobbies. The petition you signed online or political blog on which you commented during an election might alienate a company that supported an opposing candidate.

Q. What are the rules for interns around social networking time, personal email, and texting/personal calls?

A. There aren’t any hard and fast rules per se. The proper behavior depends on the style and culture of the company in which you intern. Most companies don’t publish an official list of rules, but you can quickly learn the “unspoken” rules by careful observation. Here are a few basic guidelines to help you when you start your internship: 

1. If in doubt—don’t. Until you’re sure what’s acceptable, err on the side of being conservative. Start by turning off your cell phone and putting it away when you enter the office.
2. Tempted to use your iPad to browse the Internet while you’re waiting for a meeting to start? It would be much better to engage a co-worker in a conversation and find out more about the company or your assignments. Like to check an app on your iPhone to find out the weather? Better wait until you have a break.
3. Socializing with other employees usually takes place before work, during lunch or break-time, and after work. When a company has a social function, make sure that you go and capitalize on that time set aside for social networking.
4. You probably have MySpace and Facebook accounts to keep connected with friends. It’s better to keep these personal accounts separate from your work life. Make sure the accounts are private, so if an office mate Googles your name, they won’t find out more about your personal life than you would like.
5. Many interns blog about their internships. (See the Eye of the Intern  blog on internships.com). A word of caution—be careful what you say or it could cost you your internship. You may have some humorous stories about what happened at work or you may want to vent about a problem in the office, but do that in person with a friend, not on your blog, where someone connected to your company might see it.