Posted on December 27, 2011 by CJ Article Team

LinkedIn is the professional networking and job searching social site. You may not have a full time job yet, but having (and taking time to update) a LinkedIn account is a great way to speed up your search for a good internship. There are three main reasons to utilize a LinkedIn account – creating a professional brand online, networking and finding internships or jobs.

1. Create a Professional Brand – LinkedIn is an important part of your internship search because the site helps you work on personal branding. LinkedIn’s Learning Center even helps users develop an appealing page that could get the attention of employers. By completing details such as seminars attended, awards, educational attainment, personal blog and all other professional achievements which prospective persons can review and evaluate, you are creating your online brand.

The goal is to differentiate yourself from other internship seekers, so it’s important to spend more time building your page. One way to get positive attention is by becoming an “expert” by sharing industry secrets, tips and other types of information on the LinkedIn Answers. Of course, you’ll get to be featured on LinkedIn as an “expert,” so you should take advantage of this feature.

Utilizing LinkedIn to find internships shouldn’t stop with creating a LinkedIn account and resume. Once you’ve developed a professional brand on LinkedIn, use it everywhere online, especially on job boards, forums and social networking sites. You can include your LinkedIn account on your actual resume, or direct managers, HR officers and administrative personnel to your LinkedIn account, so they can give your resume a better, deeper review of your credentials.

LinkedIn has an authoritative ranking with the search engines. Meaning, when a person does a Google search using your name, there’s a good chance that the first result will be your LinkedIn page. If you want to be found by recruiters, you should be able to include specific keywords that will help HR professionals and recruiters find your LinkedIn page.

2. Build your Professional Network – The great thing about LinkedIn is you can use your connections to help get internships. Your real friends and colleagues will easily find you, since you are already connected with them by school, company employed in or other matching details.

You can also find a particular company or employee on LinkedIn. Once you find an internship program you’re interested in, do a “people search” on LinkedIn and check if a hiring manager or HR staff members of that company are on LinkedIn. By clicking the names listed on your search, LinkedIn will be able to tell you if you are connected to the person. Your goal is to have a mutual connection with the “insider” of the company. If you’re close with the mutual connection, you can even ask him/her to introduce you to the hiring manager/employee.

In addition, since it’s a social networking site, you can actually make friends with these “company insiders” and get a better chance of being hired for an internship. You might even land an internship that isn’t listed.

3. Find Internships and Jobs - Companies and employers with LinkedIn accounts usually post job openings and internship opportunities on their LinkedIn accounts. If you already have an internship program on mind, being exposed to many more options can give you a broader view of your future career. While you might find it more difficult to choose which company, office or establishment to become an intern on, you’ll be able to know what career you really like and work on it by means of getting the corresponding internship offers.

LinkedIn has a robust search feature. It allows you to search by people, groups, companies, jobs and answers. You can join internship groups or create a new one for a chosen field and location, such as “New York fashion Interns.”

Maximizing LinkedIn can help you get more professional connections both online and offline. Since you get to connect with other professionals within your chosen field, find internships or jobs through recommendations and build an impressive personal brand, LinkedIn should be a major part of your internship search plan.

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