A common mistake amongst underclassmen (specifically freshmen and sophomores) is waiting until they’re in their junior or senior year of college to start taking job seeking seriously. In this blog, I have provided some tips for a successful job search while still in undergrad!
I. Taking initiative on LinkedIn
A privilege that students have is, in fact, their status as a student. Their curiosity for prospective careers reminds business professionals of a stage in their life that they once had to go through as well. To utilize the benefits of alumnae relations students should learn to properly connect with them first.
Type in your school name + your major in the search bar
Navigate to “People”
In the filter section, click on “Past Companies” and select each of the topics that you have interest in
You will then see thousands of results of alumni who can change your life
Personalize an invite using our sample template
Reach out to at least 5 alumni a day to build your network
II. Sample invite template
Dear _______,
It was a pleasure learning about your achievements and growth through our recent webinar with X Club at Baruch College. I enjoyed learning about the tips and tricks in how to successfully navigate a job search from an experienced professional such as yourself. I would love to connect with you to learn more about your career path. I look forward to hear back from you!
III. Some things to never do on LinkedIn
Never try to connect with someone without a personalized invite
If you do not hear back from the business professionals you are trying to connect with, do not spam them on LinkedIn or their emails
Do not ask connections whom you’ve just connected with to endorse you
Do not use negative language under posts that you do not agree with
Do not use Instagram selfies as your LinkedIn profile picture
IV. Adding relevant skills
A great tip from recruiters is to always keep your skills section up to date—with the addition of soft skills (i.e communication skills, leadership skills, time management skills etc). Technical skills (i.e C/C++, Java, Python, SQL etc) are of greater significance than soft skills but the latter should never be disregarded in terms of keeping one’s profile up to date!
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